Running Scared
by Miss E Charlotte
Summary: When Francesca, a old friend of Damon's rolls into town, he knows trouble isn't far behind. Can he help her without falling in love with her, again. Damon/OC
1. Chapter 1

_a/n-So i decided to start another vampire diaries story, i have had this chapter typed up for weeks but wasn't going to post it yet since i haven't wrote anymore chapters. But i decided to go ahead and post the first chapter to see what everyone thinks of it. If enough people love it, i will start trying to write and update new chapters, if not i will come back to this story some other time. So hope you enjoy and let me know what you think._

**Chapter 1**

Francesca Daniels drove her brand new black Dodge Charger down the dark road. She pushed her foot down on the gas pedal and watched the speedometer go from 70 all the way up to 90 mph. She had always loved driving fast, and she wasn't worried about wrecking and dying. That was one good thing about already being dead. She reached over and turned up the radio, when a Beatles song began to play. Anyone who knew her, knew what a big Beatles fan she was. She even partied with them a few times back in the 60's. She hummed along with the song as she ran a hand through her long blond hair, it was a light blond with dark red streaks. She liked the dark red, it reminded her of blood. Plus it made her blue eyes stand out. She turned off the radio and smiled when she passed the 'Welcome to Mystic Falls' sign. She quickly drove through the town, it was a little after 10 and noone was out walking around. Once out of town, she turned down a very familiar driveway and parked in front of the house. She got out of the car and looked up at the house, hoping noone inside heard her pull up. She wanted her visit to be a surprise. She looked up at his room and noticed his bedroom window was open. In a flash, she jumped up to the window and sat on the windowsill. She looked around the dark empty room.

_"Hmm, where could he be?"_ She thought to herself as she stepped into the room. She walked out into the hall and slowly made her way downstairs,making sure not to make a sound. She slowly walked into the study and smiled when she finally found him. His back was toward her as he faced the fireplace. As he took a sip of liquor from his glass, she slowly started walking toward him. She froze when she stepped on a creaky floorboard, the sound traveled all around the silent room.

He took a deep breath as he turned around and said,"who's there?"

With her vampire speed, she ran to the other side of the room before he could see her.

He looked around the room before saying,"i know someone is here. Where are you?"

"Over here." She said softly.

He looked on the left side of the room, where the voice came from. She quickly ran over to the right side, before saying,"now, I'm over here."

He sighed in frustration,"whoever this is I'm not in the mood for games, come out now or i will rip your heart out of your chest."

"Ouch, that was rude." She said as she stepped out of the shadows and stood in front of him.

"I should have known it was you."

She smiled,"hi,Damon."

"Ces, what are you doing here?" He asked.

She shrugged,"I was in the neighborhood."

Damon scoffed,"You never just drop by to visit, there is always a reason."

She sighed,"alright fine. I need help."

"Ah ha, i knew it. What did you do now?"

"Pissed off a old vamp and now he wants me dead." She said nonchalant.

He chuckled,"What did you do to him?"

She shrugged,"I killed his girlfriend."

Damon gave her a look, she scoffed,"What? She was a bitch."

"So you showed up here, hoping for what?"

"Hoping you would help me." She asked with a hopeful look.

"I'm not getting mixed up in your drama."

She sighed."I knew i should have ask Stefan"

"Go ahead, go ask him."

"So you won't help me?"

"Nope."

She gave him a dirty look,"I really hate you, you know."

"Yeah right, you know you love me." He yelled to her as she walked out of the room, pouting.

As she storms upstairs she passes Stefan.

"Hey, Stefan." She said cheerfully

"Hey,Ces." He said with confusion in his voice.

He walked into the study to see his brother drink a glassful of liquor before quickly filling it back up.

"You ok?" Stefan asked him.

He scoffed,"Of course i am, why do you ask?"

Stefan pointed upstairs,"Cause hurricane Ces just blew into town."

Damon rolled his eyes,"I don't care that she is in town."

"You sure? Cause her little trips goes a little something like this, she comes into town with a problem, she begs you to help, you say no so she begs till you finally give in. Then while fixing said problem, you two start up a little fling, she leaves before things get serious and leaves you broken hearted. See why i am a little worried?"

"No, not really. It's not going to be like last time." Damon said.

Stefan laughed,"right, you say that now. But we both know how Ces can be. Just be careful brother."

Damon waved him off,"yeah yeah whatever."

"I take it she is staying here, since she just stormed up stairs." Stefan said.

"Probably so." Damon said as he drank the rest of the liquor in his glass.

"You ok with that?"

Damon sighed as he slammed the glass down,"i told you, i don't care."

"Alright, if you say so." Stefan said, but he wasn't convinced,"well, I've got to go check on Elena."

"Is she ok?" Damon asked.

"I guess, she just called. She thought she heard something outside her window, but she couldn't find anything. I'm going to go make sure everything is ok."

Damon scoffed,"always the hero huh?"

Stefan rolled his eyes before walking out of the room. Damon poured himself another glass before mumbling to himself,"it's going to be a long night."

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

"From the sounds of it, Stefan isn't to happy i am here." Francesca said, a few minutes later as she walked back into the study.

"You were listening." Damon said.

She laughed,"you would have done it too."

"Stefan has a lot on his mind and you being in town doesn't help."

"What's going on?"

"Katherine."

"Well, she was always good at messing with Stefan and your heads." She said.

He scoffed,"whatever, yes i loved her. But, i loved someone else more and that person was you. But, you ran the minute i told you that."

She sighed,"Damon, I'm sorry. But, it never would have worked. I'm a vampire and you were human at the time."

He shrugged,"You could have turned me, like Katherine did."

"I didn't want this life for you Damon, this life is not a good life for anyone. No matter how Katherine tries to make it sound."

"Don't you think that should have been my choice to make? As long as i was with you, i wouldn't have cared what you were. I could have spent forever with you, but you made sure that never happened."

Before Francesca could say anything else, Stefan and Elena walked into the room.

Francesca walked up to Elena, Elena took a small step back in fear. Francesca smiled and held her hand out,"hey, you must be Elena."

Elena smiled,"That's me. And you are Francesca, Stefan told me about you."

"Don't believe everything he says. And please call me Ces, that's what my friends call me."

"Except for me,i call her bitch." Damon said.

"Ouch, Damon." Francesca said.

"Truth hurts babe." Damon said as he walked out of the room

Francesca sighed,"Katherine sure did do a number on him."

"She's not the only one." Stefan said as he looked at her.

"I never meant to hurt him Stefan."

"Which time? Every time he falls for you, you leave. You and Katherine are one and the same."

"I am nothing like Katherine."

"You're right, you're worse. At least she is honest about it. She admits that she hurt Damon, but you act like you care while you're breaking his heart."

Tears filed her eyes,"I do care."

"Then leave, leave town before you hurt him, again."

Francesca wiped away the tears from her cheek and smiled at Elena,"it was nice to meet you Elena."

Francesca mumbled 'bye' then walked out of the room, she went to open the front door when a voice called out,"leaving already, why am i not surprised?"

She looked up at the stairs and saw Damon. She ignored him as she walked out of the door, he followed her outside. He grabbed her arm as she went to walk down the stairs.

"Where are you going?" He asked angrily

"I'm leaving. That is what you want right? That's what Stefan wants. Sorry to bother you."

He sighed,"Where are you going to go?"

She shrugged,"I don't know Damon, but i have to find somewhere to hide. I wasn't kidding when i said a vamp is after me. He wants me dead Damon, he wants my head on a stick and my heart on a platter. He WILL kill me."

Damon sighed again,"alright, i will help you. But, this is strictly professional ok?"

She smiled and nodded her head,"thank you Damon."

She turned to walk away and he grabbed her arm again,"whoa, where are you going?"

"To a hotel." She said

"No, you are staying here. Until we kill the vamp that's after you i don't want you alone."

"What about Stefan? He doesn't want me here."

"I'll take care of Stefan. Now go on inside."

She walked up to Damon and wrapped her arms around his waist, she laid her head on his chest. Damon sighed as he wrapped his arms around her. _"I will not fall for her this time._" He promised to himself as he held her close.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n-so what do you all think? Is this a story you might want to read more of? or does it kind of suck and i need to delete it now? lol Thanks for reading and i hope you will let me know what you think. Thanks everyone!  
_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

After grabbing her bag from the car, Francesca walked up the stairs and down the hall to the fourth door on the right. She opened the door and walked in, she smiled as she looked around the purple and black room. It felt like coming home. Every time she stayed with the Salvatore brothers, she always stayed in the same room. It had a big beautiful bed in the middle of the room with a purple comforter and a black bedside table on the left side of the bed. On the right side was a huge window with a deep purple curtain, beside the window was a black dresser. On the other side of the room was a private bathroom and a walk in closet. She walked over to the bed and sat her black bag down, she smiled when she heard someone walk into the room, she knew who it was without turning around.

"Is the room ok?" Damon asked her.

"Yeah, it's just like i left it." She said, as she turned around to face him.

"It should be, noone but you stay in this room."

She took a step toward him,"aw that sweet, it's my own personal room. Thank you for not letting anyone stay in it."

He scoffed,"don't thank me. No one messes with your room cause you said you would kill anyone if they step foot in it."

"Oh." She said, feeling a little disappointed. She thought or had hoped, that he wouldn't let no one stay in it cause he cared about her.

He walked around her and sat down on the bed,"so tell me about this pissed off vamp."

She turned around to face before saying,"well, his name is Jude. He has his own little coven of vamps, there are about a dozen of them."

"Was a dozen, since you killed his girlfriend."

She laughed,"right, anyways i hung out with them for awhile but you know how i am."

"Let me guess, he fell in love with you then you left."

She scoffed,"no, that is not what happened."

"Oh so you just do that to me." He said with a small smile.

She rolled her eyes before asking,"Damon, do you want to hear the story or not?"

"Go ahead, i can't wait to hear the story." He said sarcastically.

She sat beside him on the bed before continuing,"as i was going to say, i was getting tired of the drama so i was going to leave. His girlfriend Piper was convinced i was in love with Jude. We had a fight, i killed her and Jude was not happy. As i was running away he swore he would find me and kill me."

Damon laid back on the bed and rolled his eyes,"wow that was so high school. When are you going to stop hanging out with such losers?"

She laughed as she laid down beside him,"not all of the vamps in the coven were losers. A few were actually kind of cool."

He leaned up on his arm and looked down at her before asking,"when are you going to stop running Ces?"

She sighed,"don't start that Damon."

"No, I'm serious. Everyone someone gets to close to you or the problem gets to real, you run. When are you going to stop?"

"I don't know." She whispered.

"You should really let someone in, you are to beautiful and amazing to be alone." He said softly as he lightly stroked her cheek.

She cleared her throat before sitting up on the bed,"I could really use something to eat, I'm starving."

Damon sighed, as he laid back down on the bed,"see that is exactly what I'm talking about."

"What? I can't help I'm hungry Damon. You know how i get when I'm hungry." She said, as she stood up.

"Why do you have to be so frustrating woman." Damon mumbled out loud, as he stood up too.

"Oh bite me."

"Tell me where." He said with a sexy grin.

"Anyway, where do all the cool kids party? I could use some teen blood, i would prefer them to be drunk. Blood taste better mixed with some liquor." She said, as her mouth watered. She couldn't wait to sank her teeth into some young flesh.

"If you're going to stay here, you can't drink people."

"What? Why?"

Damon shrugged,"house rule."

"Let me guess, this is Stefan rule."

"Yep."

She sighed,"that boy always did take the fun out of being a vamp."

Damon laughed,"yeah, he was always a buzz kill."

"Alright, what are my choices then?"

"Bunny or blood bag."

"Ew, I'll take a bag. No way i am killing a innocent bunny." She said while wrinkling her nose.

"Coming from the girl who will kill a human."

"Hey i like animals but I'm not to fond of humans." She explained.

All Damon could do was laugh as he walked out of the room to get her a bag of blood. She walked to the bed and unzipped her bag, she decided to unpack while she waited for Damon to return. When she got to the bottom of the bag, she picked up a picture. It was the type you get from a photo booth. She smiled as she looked at the four small pictures of her and Damon, it was taken one of the many times she had visited him. There was a carnival that night in town, once a year the middle of town shuts down and everyone comes out to go to the carnival and he just had to drag her to it. Her smile got bigger as she remembered that night.

_...ooo...Flashback...ooo..._

_"Yum, this cotton candy is good. Why don't you try some?" Francesca said, as she shoved a big piece of pink cotton candy in Damon's mouth. _

_"Woman, what the hell are you doing? Cotton candy doesn't go with ice cream." He said as he shook his ice cream cone toward her. _

_"I just wanted you to try some." She said, as she poked out her bottom lip and pouted. He never could resist her pout or her big blue eyes. _

_"Well, why don't you try to some ice cream." He said, as he shoved the ice cream toward her face, getting chocolate ice cream on the tip of her nose. _

_"You big jerk." She shouted, as she playfully pushed his shoulder. _

_"See, it's not nice shoving food in peoples faces is it?" He asked. _

_"Oh bite me." She mumbled while grabbing a napkin out of his hand and wiping off the ice cream. _

_"Tell me where." He said while flashing her a sexy grin. _

_"So what should we do now? Play a game? Ride the Ferris wheel?" She asked. _

_He threw the rest of his ice cream in the trash then grabbed her hand,"I have a idea." _

_"Where are we going?" She yelled, as he dragged her across the street then stood in front of a photo booth. _

_"We're going to take a picture so you'll never forget me." He said. _

_She laid on hand on his cheek before whispering,"i could never forget you Damon." _

_He kissed the palm of her hand then opened the curtain and sat down on the hard bench like seat. _

_She looked inside and laughed,"that seat is so small, there is nowhere for me to sit." _

_"Of course there is." He said, as he grabbed her hand, pulled her inside and sat her down on his lap. _

_As he slipped in a few quarters, she leaned against him and waited for the flash. They both had a huge grin on their face as the first flash went off. _

_She turned to look at him,"how many pictures does it take?"_

_"Four." _

_"Are we going to smile like fools for all four pictures?" She asked laughing. _

_"Nah, i thought we could do something else." He said before he cupped her cheek and gently kissed her right when the second flash went off. She looked into his eyes and smiled as the third flash went off. She turned back to face the camera and closed her eyes with a dreamy smile on her face, as he pulled her body closer to his. He whispered in her ear,"I'll always love you" right as the fourth and final flash went off. _

_...ooo...End flashback...ooo..._

She felt tears in her eyes as she kept looking at the picture. Later that night while Damon was sleeping, she slipped out of bed and did what she did best. She ran. Damon didn't deserve her, her deserved a girl that would actually stick around. A girl that wasn't afraid to love. A girl he could spend forever with.

"I'm not that girl." She said quietly to herself, as she unzip a small pocket on the inside of her bag. She slipped the picture inside the pocket then quickly zipped it back up. There was no point in looking back in the past, she couldn't be the girl that Damon wanted. She didn't deserve his love, she didn't deserve anything she thought sadly to herself as she sat down on the bed.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n-wow thanks to xoxobianca, sam riggs and ThisSideorTheOther for reviewing the last chapter. Also thanks to everyone who added the story to their favorites. I'm glad so many of you are enjoying this story so far. This chapter is kind of sappy but i still loved it lol I wanted to flashback and show their relationship a little. I thought it was a cute scene and i hope you all enjoy it and the rest of the chapter. So let me know what you think please :)_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Francesca sighed as she stood up from the bed,_"I need to stop thinking so much and i know exactly what i need."_ She thought to herself with a smile. She needed to find Damon, he had two things she needed to get her mind off of things, sex and blood. She walked across the room to the bedroom door, she froze when she heard talking a few rooms down. It was Stefan and Elena, Francesca leaned closer to the door and used her vampire hearing to listen when she heard her name mentioned.

"So i take it you don't like Francesca to much?" Elena asked Stefan.

"It's not that i don't like her, i just hate how she hurts Damon. She pulls this crap all the time." He explained.

"What do you mean?" Elena asked, as she snuggled up closer to Stefan on the bed.

"Ces doesn't stay in one place for long, she is constantly moving around and getting in trouble. Every time she is in trouble she runs to Damon, he falls for her all over again then she runs away, leaving him heartbroken."

"I never thought i would say this, but poor Damon." Elena said.

"Yeah," Stefan said with a short laugh before adding,"i just worry with Katherine already starting trouble and now Ces in town, it might be to much for Damon to handle."

"Are Katherine and Francesca friends?" Elena asked worried, she couldn't handle two female vampires causing problems.

"Not even close," Stefan said laughing,"those two hate each other. They have been feuding for centuries."

"Were you and Francesca ever friends?"

"Yeah at one time. We first met her the summer of 1863, she just showed up in town one day. She never mentioned where she was from or anything about her past. But, she,Damon and I quickly become close friends anyway."

"Wow, so she was around before Katherine was." Elena said.

Stefan nodded his head before continuing,"when we first met Ces, we didn't know she was a vampire. We didn't even know vampires existed at the time. Ces kept all of that a secret from us, which is why she hates Katherine so much, Katherine is the one who told us about vampires and of course turned us. When Ces found out, she was pissed."

"How did Francesca and Damon get started?"

"Damon loved her from the start, Ces played hard to get for awhile but she finally gave in and they begin to date. Then one day, Damon went to go visit her and she was gone. Not to long after that is when Katherine showed up and you know the rest." Stefan said sadly.

Francesca took a small step back and angrily wiped away the tears that fell down her face. She has spent centuries blaming herself for what happened to the Salvatore brothers. _"I never should have left town,"_ She thought to herself,"_if i never would have left, then Katherine never would have been able to turn Damon and Stefan. It is all my fault."_

She sighed as she sat back on the bed, she remembered exactly why she left. She reached down in her shirt and pulled out a long silver chain that was hidden inside her shirt, a ring was on the chain. She held the ring in her hand as she thought back to that night, the night Damon first told her he loved her.

_...ooo...Flashback...ooo..._

_"Damon, where are you taking me." She yelled, as she held up the bottom of her dress and ran after him through the woods. _

_"Just trust me, i have a surprise for you." He said, as he grabbed her hand and led her through two trees then stopped when he got to a clearing in the middle of the woods._

_She gasped in surprise, all around her was tons and tons of small purple wildflowers, in the middle of the field was a purple blanket and a picnic basket. _

_"What is all of this?" She asked, as she looked up at him. _

_"I found this place a few days ago and i remembered you said you love the color purple so i knew you would like it." He said with a smile. _

_"Well you are right, i love it. It's so beautiful." She whispered. _

_"You're beautiful." He said, as he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her. _

_She smiled at him,"and what is the picnic basket for?"_

_He shrugged before saying,"i just thought we could have a picnic."_

_"At night?" She asked, laughing. _

_"Why not? What's more romantic than eating under the stars?" He asked. _

_"Good point." She said, as he grabbed her hand and lead her to the blanket. _

_"So what did you bring?" She asked him, as they sat down side by side on the blanket. _

_He opened up the basket before saying,"i packed soup and sandwiches. Not very romantic i know, but it's all i know how to make."_

_She laughed,"it's wonderful, i love it."_

_He sat the food down on the blanket then turned to her and grabbed her hands,"before we eat, there is something i want to talk to you about."_

_"What?" She asked with a worried look on her face. _

_"Don't worry it's nothing bad. As you know, today makes it a year since we have been dating and i have a present for you." He said as he pulled a small box out of his pocket and handed it to her. _

_She opened the box and gasped in surprise at what was inside, it was a silver ring with a small amethyst stone in the middle. _

_"It's beautiful, thank you Damon but you didn't have to give me anything." _

_He took the ring out of the box and slid it on her finger,"I know but i wanted to. I want you to know how much you mean to me."_

_She looked at the beautiful ring then looked at him and smiled,"you mean a lot to me too." _

_He leaned forward and softly kissed her lips. After the kiss he rested his forehead against hers before whispering,"I love you Ces." _

_She back away from him a little,"what?" _

_"I love you Ces." He said again while cupping her cheek. _

_"I..I..I.." She stuttered, as tears filled her eyes. _

_"It's ok baby, you don't have to say anything." He said, as he wiped a tear off her cheek. He took her tears as a sign that she was happy and to overwhelmed to talk, but inside she was freaking out. Sure she loved him, but she can't be with him. She was a vampire, he was a human, it would never work. Even though it's going to hurt like hell, she had to end this. She had to leave town and never look back, he might never understand why she left but it was for the best. He deserved a normal girl, one he could grow old with. Not one who would never get older or die. Besides, she couldn't handle loving someone again and losing them. It hurt to much the first time. _

_Later that night, she quietly sneaked into his bedroom and watched him as he slept. She slowly walked to his bed then leaned down to softly kiss his cheek before whispering,"i love you too." in his ear._

_Holding back a sob, she turned around and silently jumped out of his window. That was the first time she left him, but it wouldn't be the last._

_...ooo...End Flashback...ooo..._

Francesca quickly dropped the ring down her shirt to hide it as she heard Damon walking down the hall. She stood up and ran her fingers through her hair, "_i really need to stop thinking of the past."_ She thought to herself.

"Alright here is your blood, i even added a little liquor to it. Just like you like it." Damon said, as he walked into the room.

"Thanks, but i think i am in the mood for something else." She said, as she took the glass from him and sat it down on the bedside table.

"What?" Damon asked.

"You." She said before pushing him against the wall and kissing him forcefully. He ran his hands down her back and placed them on her butt then lifted her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist as he spun them around and slammed her back against the wall. She threw her head back and moaned as he kissed and sucked on her neck. When she moaned his name, he begin thinking with his upstairs brain and stopped the kissing.

"Wait Ces." He said, trying to catch his breath.

"What?" She mumbled while she nibbled on his ear.

"We can't do this."

She looked at him like he was crazy,"what? you're kidding right?"

"No, I'm not kidding. We got to keep this professional remember?"

She slid down his body and walked around him after her feet hit the ground,"whatever Damon. Good night."

He turned around to face her,"don't be mad."

She sighed,"I'm not mad. I'm tired, so good night Damon."

"Ces, don't be like this. Don't shut me out cause i turned you down."

She laughed,"that is not what i am doing. I told you, i am tired. Now I'm going to take my clothes off and one of two things are going to happen. Either we're having sex or I'm going to sleep. Your choice."

He slowly walked up to her and planted a kiss on her forehead,"see you in the morning Ces."

He walked past her and shut her bedroom door when he made it out into the hall. He leaned against the door and sighed in frustration when he heard her clothes hit the floor.

He closed his eyes and imagined her crawling into the bed with nothing on, she always loved sleeping in the nude.

"Damn, I'm stupid." He whispered to himself.

He turned around and placed his hand on the doorknob then quickly took it away, he placed his hands on either side of the door frame and rested his forehead against the door with his eyes closed. He wanted nothing more then to walk into that room and lay down beside her, but he couldn't do it. He had to be strong this time and not fall for her, he didn't think his heart could take much more.

He sighed, as he pushed himself away from the door and begin walking down the hall.

"I need a drink." He mumbled to himself, as he walked downstairs and headed for the study.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n-I apologize for writing another flashback, i didn't plan to write another one but that little scene popped in my head and i thought it would be cute. I might end up writing more who knows lol so i hope none of you have a problem with them. Anyways i hope you all enjoyed this chapter and it didn't disappoint anyone. Thank you to purpleheeead,xoxobianca,Twilight Gleek and David Fishwick for reviewing the last chapter. I am really glad you all are liking this story. Also thanks to everyone who is reading and adding the story to their favorites :)_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The next morning, Francesca rolled over in her bed and took a deep breath. Her stomach rumbled when the smell of bacon hit her nose. After climbing out of bed, she quickly threw on a pair of black jeans and a black shirt, then after putting on a little make up and fixing her hair, she walked out of the bedroom and headed downstairs. She followed the bacon smell into the kitchen, where she found Stefan standing in front of the stove, frying bacon.

"Yummy, that smells good." She said, as she walked into the kitchen.

"Morning Ces." He mumbled.

"Morning Stefan. You still hate me?"

He sighed, as he flipped the bacon over,"I never hated you Ces, i just hate how you hurt Damon."

"I don't mean to." She said softly, then she walked toward him and threw a arm around his shoulder,"you know you're like a little brother to me."

"Yeah, yeah i know."

"Then you should know, you can't stay mad at me for long." She said, as she grabbed a piece of bacon off of the plate by the stove.

Stefan slapped at her hand before saying,"that's not for you."

"Let me guess, it's for Elena." She said with a smile.

Stefan smiles back,"yes, she stayed over last night."

"Good for you Stefan, she seems like a great girl. Unlike someone else who looks just like her." She said bitterly.

Stefan grunted in response as he quickly scrambled some eggs.

"Speaking of which, I heard Katherine is in town." Francesca said, as she sat down on a bar stool.

"Yep."

"What does she want?"

"Who knows. This is Katherine we are talking about." Stefan said bitterly.

Francesca leaned against the counter before saying,"don't let her get to you, she's just mad that you are over her. Anyone could see that you and Elena are head over heels in love with each other and that has to be killing her."

"Hopefully it will kill her." Stefan said, as he walked out of the kitchen holding a plate of food.

"If it doesn't, i will." Francesca mumbled to herself, as she stood up and pulled her cell phone out of her front pant pocket.

She quickly dialed a number and waited for a answer.

"Hey Max, i need your help." Francesca said, as soon as he answered the phone.

"So you're still alive huh? I heard Jude was after you." Max said.

She chuckled before saying,"yes I'm still alive, for now anyway."

"What can i help you with baby doll?"

"Katherine"

Max sighed,"what has she done now?"

"So far nothing and i want to keep it that way. Can you track her down for me, word around town is she's back in the falls. Find out where, i want to talk to her."

"I'll do what i can."

"Thank you Max." She said with a smile.

"No problem and hey, keep doing what you're doing. Jude has no idea where you are."

"That's good to know." Francesca said, as she hung up the phone.

"Don't you think you have enough to worry about." Damon said, he was standing behind her.

She quickly spun around,"don't scare me like that, you big jerk."

"Who was that?" He asked her, pointing to her phone.

She shrugged,"just a acquaintance."

"Why do you want to talk to Katherine?"

"None of your business."

"It's not your fault you know." He said quietly.

"What?" She asked, confused.

"That Stefan and I were turned."

"Yes it is, if i never would have left. Katherine would not have gotten her claws into you two."

"Is that the only reason you regret leaving?" He asked her as he walked closer to her.

"Damon don't." She whispered.

"Don't what?" he whispered back

"Don't bring up the past. There is no point in going back there."

"Do you regret leaving me?" He asked her, as he stood in front of her and looked straight into her eyes.

She tried to walk around him but he grabbed her and pulled her back in front of him,"damn it Ces, quit running and answer the damn question. Do you regret leaving me?"

"I can't." She whispered.

"Come on Ces, you owe me this much. I deserve a straight answer from you."

"I can't." She said again, slowly this time.

"Can't or won't?"

"Won't." She said as she jerked her arm out of his hand and walked out of the kitchen.

"You know, you haven't changed at all Ces." He yelled out after her. All he got back in return was the slamming of the front door.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

After slamming the door, Francesca ran to her car and climbed behind the wheel. She needed to get away from Damon and fast. She turned the radio up as she pressed her foot down harder on the gas pedal. She rolled her window down and rested her arm on the door, nothing could clear her mind more then driving fast with the window down and the music up.

_"Well that and sex."_ She thought to herself with a smile.

When she made it to town, she slowed down and pulled into the parking lot of The Mystic Grill. She ran her hands through her wind blown hair as she opened the door of the restaurant and walked in. Everyone inside glanced at the door to see who the newcomer was then quickly turned back around. Expect for a few males, who did a double take. She smiled at the attention and walked across the floor to the bar, she slowly moved her hips from side to side as she walked, giving the guys something to look at. She sat down on a bar stool and smiled at the female bartender.

"Can i help you?" The bartender asked.

"Give me a scotch on the rocks." Francesca said.

"Rough day?" The bartender asked, as she filled a glass with ice and scotch, then handed the glass to Francesca.

Francesca gave her a short laugh,"more like a rough life."

"I hear ya." The bartender said with a laugh as she poured herself a shot.

Francesca held her glass up,"well here's to having a sucky life."

"I'll drink to that." The bartender said, as she clinked her glass with Francesca.

They both brought the glass to their lips and drank the liquor in one swallow.

Francesca sat her empty glass on the counter before saying,"hit me again."

"Coming right up." She said, as she filled Francesca glass with scotch again.

Further down the bar a customer called for the bartender, she held up a finger before turning back to Francesca.

"Well i hope things get better for you." She said sincerely.

Francesca glanced around the restaurant as she drank the scotch in one swallow. She smiled when she saw a cute young guy with dark hair sitting alone.

She looked back at the bartender before saying,"i have a feeling it's about to get better."

Francesca threw some money on the counter, then walked over to the booth the guy was sitting at.

"Hey, mind if i join you?" She asked him.

He looked up from his food and smiled at her,"sure, have a seat."

"Thanks." She said, as she slid into the seat across from him.

"You new around here? I've never seen you before."

"Sorta, I'm staying with some old friends. My name is Francesca."

"Well, it's nice meeting you Francesca. I'm Tyler Lockwood."

"Lockwood huh? I'm sorry to hear about your dad."

"You heard about that?" He asked, surprised.

"Word travels fast in a small town." She said.

He nodded his head in agreement before changing the subject,"So you said you're staying with friends. Who are they, i might know them?"

"The Salvatore brothers."

"Stefan and Damon right?"

"Yep, that's them. You know them?"

"I know Stefan a little,we go to school together. But, Damon i have only met a few times." He explained.

"So you're in school huh? I'm surprised you don't have a girlfriend."

He shrugged,"I like to keep my options open."

She laughed,"good plan. It's good to be single, you never know when you'll met someone."

"Yeah who knows, one day you could be sitting in booth eating and a beautiful girl sit across from you." He said with a wink.

"Very smooth Lockwood." She said with a laugh.

He chuckled,"thanks, so um you got any plans today?"

"Yes i do."

"Oh." He said, feeling disappointed.

She leaned across the table,"my plan is to take you into the bathroom and have a little fun."

"You serious?" He asked.

"Very." She said with a flirty smile.

"What kind of fun did you have in mind?"

"Follow me and find out." She said, as she stood up from the booth and begin walking toward the back of the building.

Tyler quickly jumped up and followed her. She giggled as she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the girls bathroom. She locked the door then pushed him against the door and kissed him hard on the lips.

"I love a woman who gets right to the point." He said, as he laid his hands on her hips.

"Don't talk." She said before kissing him again.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her body closer to his, as she ran her hands through his dark hair. She pulled his head to the side and lightly kissed his neck. She closed her eyes and listened to the blood rushing through his veins, the sound was driving her crazy. Her mouth begin to water as she thought about drinking his blood, she could just imagine how it would feel to have his warm blood sliding down her throat. Suddenly, she felt her fangs coming out and without a second though, she sank her teeth into Tyler's neck.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n-Hey everyone, i hope you enjoyed this chapter. Bad Francesca, she should not be biting on people lol. Many thanks to xoxobianca,sam riggs and David Fishwick for reviewing the last chapter. I am glad you all are enjoying this story, i think it is becoming my favorite too lol Hope you all are still enjoying it, happy reading :)_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Ouch, what the hell did you do?" Tyler yelled, as he pushed Francesca away from him.

She quickly turned around and waited till her fangs went away before she turned back around to face Tyler.

He laid his hand over the bite mark before saying,"did you bite me? What the hell is your problem?"

"Tyler, look at me." She said softly and waited for him to look at her.

Once she had his attention she widen her eyes, compelling him and softly said,"You forgive me."

"I forgive you." He repeated.

"If anyone ask, you cut yourself shaving and you can't show them." She said slowly.

"I cut myself shaving and i can't show anyone." He repeated.

She smiled then lightly patted his cheek,"that's a good boy."

She reached over and grabbed some paper towels then handed them to him,"here you go, you need to clean yourself off."

He walked over to the sink and begin wiping the blood off of his neck. She watched him and was reminded of Damon, this was exactly why she couldn't be with him when he was a human. She was scared she would have hurt him, and now, well now she really didn't have a good reason other than she was scared. She shook her head and tried to get Damon out of her head, but it was hard. Her head was suddenly filled with different images of Damon. Damon looking happy,sad,mad,disappointed and the best one, him looking at her with that sexy grin and love in his eyes.

She sighed before thinking to herself,"_what am i doing? I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be standing in this bathroom making out with some guy i don't even know. I've got to stop doing this, I've got to stop hurting Damon."_

She was still lost in thought, when Tyler turned back around to face her. He wrapped his arms back around her waist and tried to kiss her. She pushed him away before saying,"sorry kid, i got to go."

He grabbed her arm as she tried to leave,"wait, where are you going?"

"I'm sorry, i made a mistake. If you were smart you would forget about me." She said, as she jerked her arm away from him and walked out of the bathroom. Without looking back, she walked out of the building and got behind the wheel of her car.

She punched the steering wheel and yelled out a few cuss words. She sighed as she laid her head back against the headrest, she didn't understand why she kept doing things like this.

She cranked up the car and pulled out of the parking lot, she had no idea where she was going, she just knew she needed to get away.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

A few minutes later, she parked her car beside what use to be the Salvatore mansion. She got out of the car and slowly walked into the woods, she hoped the place was still there. Before long she walked between two trees and come to the clearing in the middle of the woods that Damon brought her to centuries ago. The purple wildflowers were gone but the place was still special to her. She wondered to herself, how things would have been if she never would have left.

_"Damon and Stefan wouldn't have been turned for one."_ She thought to herself.

She sighed, as she sat down on the ground and remembered when she found out they were turned into vampires.

_...ooo...Flashback...ooo..._

_Francesca pulled the hood of the black cloak she was wearing lower on her head. She walked threw the snow and opened the front door of a small cabin. She couldn't remember what town she was in now, there have been so many since she left Mystic Falls. All she did know was, her heart was hurting and she missed Damon. _

_She sat down at a small table and took a envelope out of the pocket of her dress. She had just received a letter from a friend of hers, she quickly read the letter._

_**My Dearest Francesca,**_

_**I hope this letter finds you well. I was recently in Mystic Falls, as i thought you would be there. But alas i couldn't locate you.I unfortunately found Katherine thought. She was up to no good as usual, she was messing around with two guys. They are brothers and i fear she was slowly turning them against each other before she turned them. **_

_Francesca skipped over the rest of the letter then reread the first paragraph again. Katherine messing with two guys, who are brothers? It can't be, there is no way it could be Damon and Stefan. But what if it is? She looked at the date the letter was written, her friend wrote the letter three weeks ago, a lot could have happen in three long weeks._

_"I've got to save Damon." She said to herself. _

_...ooo...ooo...ooo...  
_

_She made it back to Mystic Falls as fast as she could. While in town, she heard rumors that there was recently a vampire round up. All vampires in town was taken to Fell's Church then it was set on fire. _

_"Wonder if Katherine was in the church." She thought to herself, as she rushed to the Salvatore mansion. After searching the whole house she realized the house was empty, she walked back outside and sighed out loud. _

_"Where could he be?" She thought to herself. _

_Suddenly, she heard noises coming from the woods. Using her vampire speed, she rushed into the woods and came upon the clearing that Damon took her too. She sighed with relief when she saw Damon and Stefan standing a few yards in front of her. _

_"Damon." She yelled out._

_He turned around and looked at her before whispering,"Ces?"_

_She ran to him and jumped into his arms,"Thank God, you're ok." _

_"What happened to you? I went to visit you and you were gone. I was so worried." He said, as he laid his hands on her cheeks. _

_"I'm sorry Damon, but i..." She stop talking and took a closer look at him before whispering,"no, it can't be."_

_"What?" He asked, confused._

_She looked at Stefan then looked back at Damon,"it was you, you are the brothers Katherine messed with. She turned you two, didn't see?"_

_"Turned us into what?" Stefan asked innocently._

_"Don't play dumb Stefan. She turned you two into vampires."_

_"How do you know about vampires?" Damon asked. _

_She lowered her head and forced the fangs to come out, then she looked at the brothers,"I know more than you think."_

_"Your a vampire?" Damon asked her,shocked. _

_"Yes, that's why i left. I didn't want this for you." She explained. _

_"Wait, you left? All this time i thought something might have happened to you, but no. You left, you left me Ces." Damon yelled. _

_"I know Damon and i am so sorry. But, try to understand." _

_"Understand what? That instead of being with me, you just skipped town without saying good-bye. I loved you Ces but i guess that wasn't enough for you."_

_She lowered her head and tried to keep the tears away. She didn't miss the way he used the word 'love' in past tense. She raised her head and looked at him before saying,"of course that was enough for me. But, it never would have worked."_

_"How do you know that?"_

_"Cause love never last forever." She said sadly. _

_"It can, Katherine said..."_

_"Katherine?" She interrupted,"you're going to listen to what Katherine says. You two have no idea the things she is capable of."_

_"Don't talk about her like that." Damon said angrily. _

_Francesca rolled her eyes,"you have got to be kidding me. Katherine is bad news, you need to stay away from her."_

_"At least she loves me." Damon said bitterly._

_"Damon you know i care about you." _

_"Care?" He scoffed,"if you cared you never would have left."_

_"What about you?" She said angrily,"you claimed to love me but yet as soon as i leave, you jump into bed with Katherine." _

_Damon didn't have a answer for her, even he didn't know why he went after Katherine. He barely even noticed her till one day he woke up and was attracted to her._

_"That bitch." She whispered, before looking at the brothers,"I bet she compelled you both, made you fall in love with her and then turned you. That is what she does, she plays with people like they are her own personal dolls."_

_Francesca looked at the brothers before saying,"Katherine has gone to far this time, I'm going to track her down and I'm going to kill her. She is not going to hurt the people i care about anymore. This ends now." _

_...ooo...End Flashback...ooo..._

Francesca stood up from the ground and balled her fist by her side. She made a promise centuries ago and maybe it's time to deliver on that promise. It's time to kill Katherine.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n-yay it's another flashback lol I know the 'letter' seemed kind of lame, i was trying to make it sound the way people would have talked back in the day but it sucked lol So just go with it please. Anyways i hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Big thanks to David Fishwick,sam riggs,Raging Raven and xoxobianca for reviewing the last chapter. Also thanks to everyone who is reading :)_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Francesca parked her car beside the Salvatore house and quickly walked toward the front door. She couldn't wait to get inside and see Damon. She walked in the door with a smile on her face, but it quickly faded when Damon spoke up.

"Wow you came back, I'm surprised." He said sarcastically.

"Bite me." She said, as she headed for the kitchen.

Damon followed her before saying,"tell me where."

She rolled her eyes as she opened the refrigerator and took out a blood bag. She bite into the bag, then grabbed a glass and poured the blood in the glass.

After taking a sip of the blood, she looked over at Damon and asked,"where's Stefan and Elena?"

"They went out to do whatever it is they do." Damon said while rolling his eyes then he asked,"where did you go?"

"Don't worry about it." She said, as she took another sip from her glass then sat it down on the counter.

"You're avoiding a question, shocker." He said sarcastically.

"Don't be such a jerk." She said, as she walked up to him.

He took a small step back, thinking she was going to hit him, instead she wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. He stood there for a few seconds in shock, before wrapping his arms around her back and resting his head on top of hers. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she sighed as his scent filled her nose. She had always loved being in his arms, she always thought she fit in his arms so perfectly. Damon was thinking the same thing as he held her close.

Francesca lifted her head and looked up at him before whispering,"I'm sorry."

He lowered his eyebrows in confusion before asking,"about what?"

"About everything. I know i have hurt you a lot and i know you might never believe me but i never meant to. I was just trying to protect you." She explained.

He gently cupped her right cheek and looked into her eyes then said,"you don't have to protect me, i can take care of myself. All i ever wanted to do was take care of you and be with you forever."

She smiled before whispering,"that sounds nice."

He placed his other hand on her left cheek and looked at her lips. He licked his lips before slowly lowering his head, she closed her eyes and waited to feel his soft lips against hers.

Damon's lips were only a few inches from hers when the door bell rang loudly through the house. Damon sighed in frustration at the interruption. He quickly kissed her forehead then ran to the front door, ready to punch whoever was standing there. He swung the front door open and was surprise when he saw Tyler standing on the other side.

"Sorry kid, we're not interested in buying girl scout cookies at the moment." Damon said sarcastically, as he went to slam the front door.

Tyler threw out a hand to stop the door from closing before saying,"is Francesca here?"

Damon narrowed his eyes at Tyler and noticed the bandage on the side of his neck. _"Well looks like Ces has been busy."_ He thought to himself bitterly.

"What happened there?" Damon asked him, as he pointed to his neck.

Tyler placed his hand on the bandage before saying,"I cut myself shaving."

"You did huh? Can i see this 'cut'?" Damon asked sarcastically, using air quotes around the word 'cut'.

"I can't show anyone." Tyler said.

"Yeah, that's what i thought." Damon mumbled.

He stepped off to the side before saying,"come on in, she's in the kitchen."

Damon turned around and begin walking toward the kitchen with Tyler following him.

Back in the kitchen, Francesca leaned against the counter as she sip the blood out of her glass. She thought about what just happened with Damon. Usually she would ran away from him, when the conversation turned to feelings and love, but this time she didn't feel the need to run. She wanted to stand there with his arms wrapped around her and she wanted to kiss him. She wanted to be with him.

She smiled when she heard Damon walking back toward the kitchen,_"maybe we could pick up where we left off."_She thought to herself.

"Oh Ces, your boy toy is here." Damon yelled out, as he walked into the kitchen.

She looked up in confusion then shock when she saw Tyler walk into the kitchen. She quickly dropped her glass in the sink then looked at Tyler and said,"Tyler? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you." Tyler said while smiling at her.

"Aw isn't that cute." Damon said sarcastically before looking at Francesca and saying quietly,"now i see what you were doing today."

"Damon wait, let me explain." She said softly.

"Don't bother." He mumbled before giving her a heart breaking look, as he walked out of the room.

"Did i come at a bad time?" Tyler asked.

She sighed before saying,"no it's ok. Let's go outside and talk."

_"Just in case Damon is listening in."_ She thought to herself, as she walked outside with Tyler following her. They walked over to his car, Tyler leaned against his car while she stood in front of him with her back toward the house.

She placed her hands in her front pockets before saying,"Tyler, i need you to do me a favor."

"Sure, name it."

"Look into my eyes and listen closely." She said softly.

Once he was looking into her eyes she said slowly,"You're a great guy and you deserve better. So i want you to tell me good-bye, then i want you to get into your car and drive away. Once you leave you won't remember me."

"I won't remember you." He repeated then he blinked and looked at her before saying,"good-bye Francesca."

"Bye Tyler." She said softly, as he climbed into his car.

She stood in the same spot, as she watched him drive down the driveway and leave. She sighed before turning around and coming face to face with Damon.

She gasped before saying,"what did i tell you about sneaking up on me?"

He ignored what she said, as he crossed his arms over his chest before saying,"now what i don't understand is, why didn't you do that for me? It really would have saved me some heartache."

"Don't start Damon." She said quietly, as she begin to walk toward the house.

Damon used his vampire speed to run in front of her, blocking her from walking away.

"Why didn't you compel me?" He asked her.

"I don't want to talk about it." She said, as she tried to walk around him.

He blocked her and asked again,"why didn't you compel me?"

"Damon, i can't..."

"Why?" He interrupted her.

"Cause it was real." She yelled at him.

He took a small step back, he was surprised she finally honestly answered his question.

"Is that what you wanted to hear?" She cried before continuing,"What we had was real and i couldn't stand it if you stopped loving me and forgot about me." She said softly with tears falling down her face.

He took a step back toward her and wiped the tears off of her face before asking her,"you do love me, don't you?"

"It doesn't matter." She whispered.

"It does to me, that's all that matters to me." He said, as he looked into her eyes.

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes, she wanted nothing more then to say those three little words to him. But she was scared, she was scared to give her heart to someone again.

_"I can't do it."_ She thought to herself before saying softly,"I'm sorry Damon."

She walked around him and tried to walk toward the house again, she only made it a few steps when he grabbed her arm and spun her around, he placed both hands on either side of her face and kissed her passionately. She moaned in surprise and placed her hands on his shoulders. She broke the kiss long enough to jump up and wrap her legs around his waist. Using his vampire speed, he rushed them inside and in a flash they were standing in her bedroom. He tossed her onto the bed and climbed on top of her. She pulled his black t-shirt off and threw it across the room before pulling him down on top of her. She ran her hands up and down his bare back as he deepened the kiss. He pulled her body as close to his as he could, he wanted to be as close to her as possible and feel ever inch of her body against his. He grabbed the bottom of her shirt and begin pulling it up, after he got the shirt off, he dropped it to the floor and looked at her. He froze when she saw what was around her neck, it was a sliver chain with a ring on the end. The ring he gave her centuries ago.

He picked up the ring before saying in surprise,"I can't believe you still have this."

"I love it." She said with a shrug.

He smiled at her before saying,"it looks good on you."

"No, you look good on me." She said with a giggle, as she pulled him down on top of her.

Damon begin kissing her again and he felt like he was in heaven. He couldn't get enough of her, he spent hours just touching her and kissing her before finally showing her how much her loved her.

After they were done, he pulled her sweaty body toward him and held her close as he fell asleep with a smile on his face.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._  
_a/n- *Sigh* I know the sex scene was lame but what can i say? I suck at make out and sex scenes lol But i hope you all still enjoyed the chapter. Are Francesca and Damon going to be a couple now or is she still going to push him away? Stay turned to find out. Oh yeah and leave me tons of reviews too lol I want to send a big thanks to David Fishwick,xoxobianca and Crumberries for reviewing the last chapter and also thanks to everyone reading :)_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

A few hours before the sun came up, Francesca slowly opened her eyes and rolled over on her side. She looked at Damon's peaceful face, he still had a small smile on his lips. She sighed and rolled over on to her back to stare at the ceiling. She was beginning to have second thoughts, _"did i just make a huge mistake?" _She thought to herself,_"maybe we shouldn't have done that. When i leave it will just hurt him all over again. I am so tired of hurting him. I'm also tired of running, but am i finally ready? Am i ready to open up and give him my whole un-beating heart?"  
_

She sighed again._ "I got to get out of here, I've got to think about this."_She thought to herself, as she slowly sat up in bed. She looked over at Damon to make sure he was still sleeping before she quietly placed her feet on the cold hardwood floor. Very slowly she stood up from the bed then leaned down to pick up her clothes. She quickly but quietly put her clothes on then walked across the floor, careful to not make a sound and slowly opened the bedroom door. She walked out into the hall and quietly shut the bedroom door then tip toed down the hall and down the stairs. She breathed a sigh of relief when she made it outside and sat down behind the wheel of her car. She leaned her head against the headrest as she played with her car keys.

"Should i leave? Should i stay? I don't know what to do." She groaned out loud in the quiet car.

She looked up at the bedroom window and thought about last night. It was wonderful, Damon was wonderful and he was right, she does love him. She just can't say it to him.

"But why? Why can't i just say 'I love you Damon', why is it so hard to say that to him?" She asked herself, as she covered up her face with her hands and sighed loudly.

She was so lost in thought, it took her awhile to realize her cell phone was ringing. She quickly took it out of her pocket and hit the green talk button.

"Hello." She said.

"Hey baby doll, I've got good news for you." Max said.

"What is it?"

"I found Katherine."

"That was fast."

"Well you was right, she is in Mystic Falls and she wants to talk to you."

"Well goodie for me." Francesca said sarcastically.

"She wants you to meet her at some place called 'Fell's Church'."

"I know where that is, when?"

"Now."

"I'm on my way." She said, as she ended the call and cranked up the car. She might not know what to do about Damon, but at least she could take care of one problem, Katherine.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Francesca parked the car then grabbed her over-sized purse from the backseat. She got out of the car and walked toward the church. She narrowed her eyes when she saw Katherine standing a few feet in front of her with her back toward her. Francesca used her vampire speed to ran the rest of the way and stand behind her.

"I'm surprised you picked to meet here, this is the place you almost died right?" Francesca said.

Katherine turned around and smirked,"yeah but luckily i got away."

"You said that wrong, you should have said, 'unfortunately i got away'. But whatever." Francesca said. She couldn't believe how different Elena was from Katherine, they may look alike but they act nothing alike.

"Oh Franny, always with the jokes."

Francesca took a deep breath and rolled her eyes, she hated to be called 'Franny'.

"I would say I'm surprised to see you here, but honestly I'm not. You've been chasing Damon around for centuries." Katherine said.

Francesca shrugged her shoulders,"at least i don't have to compel people to love me."

Katherine threw her head back and laughed out loud,"you think i compelled Damon? Poor naive Franny. I never compelled him, he wanted to be with me."

"I don't believe you."

Katherine laughed again,"what? You thought he loved you? He never loved you Francesca. He was just using you, i was the one he really loved."

"You're lying."

"Am I? Let's see, he took me to a clearing in the woods once, there were purple wildflowers all around. He told me he took you there and gave you a amethyst ring. He also said that is where he told you he loved you, but he didn't mean it. He only said it cause he was hoping to get under your dress that night. How am i doing?" Katherine asked her.

Francesca felt like her heart was breaking, how else could Katherine know all of that unless Damon did tell her. She felt tears come to her eyes but she quickly wiped them away before Katherine could see them.

"From the look on your face i would say I'm right. Sorry to be the one to break it to you Franny but it's the truth."

Francesca said nothing as Katherine being to slowly walk toward her.

"You know, i never really understood why you and I didn't become friends." Katherine said.

"Cause your a psycho bitch."

Katherine laughed as she stood in front of Francesca,"I'm not that bad, matter of fact i can help you."

"You can? How?" Francesca asked her with a confused look.

Before Francesca could stop her, Katherine drove a stake into Francesca's stomach. Francesca screamed and doubled over in pain, Katherine leaned down and whispered in her ear,"I can help kill you. I'm sure Damon would thank me."

Katherine pulled the stake out and raised it high to stake her again, in this heart this time. Before she could bring the stake down Francesca tackled her and they both fell to the ground.

"You bitch." Francesca yelled out, as she punched Katherine in the face. Katherine quickly stood up from the ground and kicked Francesca in the stomach a few times.

Francesca stood up on her hands and knees to cough before mumbling through the pain,"you didn't kill me."

"Your right, the stake didn't kill you. But the vervain will."

Francesca looked up at her in shock,"what?"

"I soaked the stake in vervain, it should being hitting you right...about...now." Katherine said slowly.

Francesca screamed as she fell to the ground. The vervain was making her insides feel like it was on fire. She needed blood and she needed it fast.

"Good-bye Francesca, forever." Katherine said before quickly running away.

Francesca rolled around on the ground and screamed out in pain. She couldn't believe this was how it was going to end. She had spent so many years running to keep from being close to people, now here she was in pain and she wished someone was there by her side. She wished Damon was there, even if he never loved her, she still loved him.

_"But it doesn't matter anymore."_ She thought to herself, as she closed her eyes.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n-boo to evil Katherine :P lol Hope you all liked this chapter, do you think Katherine was telling the truth or was she lying? Will Francesca be ok? Stay tuned to find out. I apologize for the short chapter. Big thanks to xoxobianca,David Fishwick,Miss. Bonnie. Booth. ,Crumberries and sam riggs. Also thanks to everyone reading and adding the story :)_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Francesca laid flat on her stomach and repeatedly took deep breaths as the vervain raced through her veins. She felt like she was going to die and she will, if she doesn't get some blood in her system soon. She slowly stood up on her hands and knees, she turned her head to spit out some dirt that made its way into her mouth. She lifted her head and looked around for her purse. She remembered bring it with her, just in case, but she dropped it while fighting with Katherine. She turned her head to the right and sighed with relief, when she saw her black purse laying on the ground near a small bush. She slowly begin to crawl toward the purse, cussing Katherine the whole time. Once she was a few inches from the purse, she stretched her arm out and grabbed the strap and pulled it toward her. After unzipping the purse, she begin to dig around till she found it. She gave a weak smile and pulled out a small sterling silver flask full of blood. She always carried a small amount of blood with her for emergencies. She brought the flask up to her lips and quickly drank all the blood that was inside. Once it was empty, she fell back to the ground and rolled over to her back. She sighed as she watched the sun rise in the sky and waited for the blood to make its way through her body.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Damon rolled over to throw his arm around Francesca, when he didn't feel anything he opened his eyes and noticed the bed was empty. He closed his eyes and sighed, she left.

"Damn you, Ces." He said quietly to himself, as he stood up from the bed and quickly got dressed.

He sighed as he glanced around the room, he saw her bag sitting in the corner on the floor. He walked over to the dresser and opened the top drawer and was surprised to see her clothes inside.

_"She didn't leave, she wouldn't leave without her clothes."_ He thought to himself.

He walked out of the room and made his way downstairs, he walked into the living room and saw Elena and Stefan sitting on the couch.

"Hey, have you guys seen Ces?" He asked them.

"No and her car wasn't here when i pulled up." Elena told him.

"Wonder where she is?" Damon mumbled to himself, as he grabbed his cellphone out of his pocket and dialed her number. Before he could hit send the front door opened and in walked Francesca, covered in dirt and limping.

In a flash Damon was by her side,"what the hell happened?"

"Katherine happened." She mumbled.

"Oh my God." Elena cried, as she and Stefan ran to help Damon move Francesca into the living room.

"You went to talk to her alone? Are you stupid?" Damon asked, as he helped her lay down on the couch.

"Apparently i am." Francesca said, as she closed her eyes.

"Are you ok?" Elena asked her.

"Yeah, you should see her. I pulled her hair and everything." Francesca joked.

"It's not funny, she could have killed you." He said softly, as he kneeled beside her.

"Yeah, but she didn't succeed."

Damon leaned forward and kissed her forehead before saying,"don't ever do anything that stupid again or i will kill you myself."

Francesca looked into his eyes and remembered what Katherine told her, _"he never cared or loved me."_ She thought to herself sadly.

She sat up before saying,"I'm going to go lay down."

Damon watched her as she walked up the stairs,_"something is wrong, Katherine said something."_ He thought to himself as he begin to walk toward the front door.

Stefan grabbed his arm to stop him,"hey, where are you going?"

"To find that bitch."

Stefan sighed,"you shouldn't go mess with Katherine. You know how she can be."

"Stefan, she almost killed Ces and i think she messed with her head."

"Why do you think that?" Stefan asked confused.

"You didn't see the look on her face, she didn't look at me like she use to. I bet you Katherine told her something and i want to know what it was."

"Then go ask Ces. The last thing you need to do is provoke Katherine."

"You're right." Damon said before walking up the stairs and down the hall. He stood in front of her bedroom and took a deep breath before opening the door. He walked in and smiled when he saw her, she was curled up in bed on her side. She had her arms wrapped around the pillow he was laying on earlier, he quietly chuckled when he heard her lightly snore. It reminded him of the last time she visited, they had laid on the couch to watch a movie and she fell asleep. The movie was quickly forgotten as he watched her sleep, she had looked so peaceful as she laid on his chest. That day he had fallen in love with her again but now he realized that was wrong, cause he had never really fallen out of love with her. Even time she left him, he told himself he didn't love her anymore, but the truth was, he fell head over heels in love with her in the summer of 1863 and he never stopped. He loved her and would always love her, now he just had to make sure she knew that.

He turned around and slowly walked out of the room, careful to not wake her up, as he thought of a plan.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Later that night, Francesca rolled over onto her back and stretch her arms above her head while yawning.

"About time you woke up." A voice said at the end of the bed. She sat up quickly then sighed with relief when she realized it was Damon.

"What are doing in here?" She asked him.

"Did you think i would forget?" He asked.

"Forget what?" She asked,confused.

"Your birthday." He said with a smile,"happy birthday, Ces."

"Thanks."

"Now for your first surprise." He said, as he slipped the amethyst ring he gave her many years ago on her finger.

She reached for the necklace around her neck and noticed it was gone,"how did you get that?"

"I took it off your neck while you were sleeping. You sleep deep, did you know that? Nothing can wake you up." He said laughing.

She shrugged,"what can i say, i love my sleep."

He smiled,"now i want you to wear that ring on your finger, it's to beautiful to be hiding. Plus i gave it to you cause i love you and i don't want my love to be hidden away. I want everyone to know how i feel about you."

She looked down at the ring and was confused. She wasn't sure what to believe, she wanted to believe Damon. She wanted to believe that he really did love her, but Katherine knew about the place in the woods. How else could she have known about it if he didn't tell her? Only three people knew where that place was, those people were Damon,Stefan and herself. She knew she didn't tell Katherine and she was sure Stefan wouldn't tell her, so it had to be Damon.

"Hey are you ok?" Damon asked her, as he placed a finger under her chin and forced he to look at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just trying to wake up." She lied.

"Well you better wake up, cause we're going out." He told her, as he stood up from the bed.

"What?" She asked with a confused look,"where are we going?"

"It's a surprise." He said with a smile.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n-hey everyone, hope you liked this chapter. I think it's just ok, it's not the best but i wanted to get a chapter out so i could keep the story going. I can't remember if vervain will kill vamps on the show so in my story vervain will kill them unless they quickly drink blood. If that is wrong i apologize. Big thanks to David Fishwick,Raging Raven,xoxobianca and sabella95 for reviewing the last chapter. Also thanks to everyone reading and adding the story to their favorites :)_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

"Where are we going?" Francesca asked Damon.

"You've been asking me that every five minutes." He said, as he drove her car down the road.

"Well if you would answer me, i wouldn't keep asking."

"Can't you just sit back and be patient?" He asked her.

"Damon you know me better than that, you know i can't be patient." She said laughing.

He laughed with her,"you're right, how could i forget that."

"Hey, you remember that year you took me to the beach for my birthday?" She asked him.

"Oh God yes, never again will i make you wear a blindfold. You bugged the hell out of me the whole time."

"And i bit you when you wouldn't let me take the blindfold off." She added with a laugh.

"Trust me, i remember that. There will be no biting fingers tonight though and luckily we're not going far."

"So where are we going?" She asked with a smile.

"Don't start that again." He groaned.

"Just tell me Damon or there will be biting tonight." She said laughing.

"We're here, but maybe later we can get to the biting." He said with a grin, as he pulled her car into a parking lot.

She looked at the building then looked at him,"you brought me to the grill?"

"Yeah, i figured we could have dinner together."

"Why didn't you just say that then? Why all the secrecy?" She asked.

He shrugged,"i wanted it to be a surprise."

She smiled,"well thank you, i love it. Now let's go eat, I'm starving."

They got out of the car and walked into the Mystic Grill. When they walked in, Francesca took off her black leather jacket, revealing a dark purple silk tank top. Damon smiled at her as he placed his hand on the small of her back and led her toward the back of the building.

"Let's go to the back, so we can have some privacy." He said.

"Ok." She said, she didn't know there was tables in the back, she thought it was a empty room that people could rent out for parties.

Damon looked at her and smiled before sliding open the door, Francesca took a step in the room and gasped when everyone yelled,'surprise.'

She looked over at Damon in surprised, who was laughing out loud.

"I finally got you, i finally surprised you." He said while laughing again.

Years ago, she had surprised Damon with a party and he always swore he would get her back but never could, till now.

"I will get you back." She threatened him.

"Looking forward to it." He said, as he pushed her into the room.

Stefan and Elena walked up to them and hugged her,"happy birthday."

"Thank you." Francesca said while smiling.

"Come on, I'll introduce you to my friends." Elena said, as she grabbed Francesca's hand and dragged her away from the guys.

"This is Bonnie and Caroline." Elena said while pointing to her friends.

"Oh the witch and new vamp. Nice to meet you too." Francesca said.

"Nice to meet you." They said at the same time.

"Thank you two for coming."

"No problem, any chance to have a party." Caroline said smiling.

"Well i do love a good party." Francesca said.

"We've got food, dancing and Damon even got you your favorite cake." Elena said to her.

"Red velvet cupcakes?" She asked her.

"Yep." Elena said.

Francesca smiled, she couldn't believe Damon went to all of this trouble just for her. That is the type of thing you do for someone you love, but she still couldn't forget the things Katherine said.

"Oh Ces, this is my brother Jeremy." Elena said, as she grabbed his arm as he walked by.

"Hey Jeremy." Francesca said.

"Hey, happy birthday." Jeremy said to her.

"Thanks, you wanna dance?" She asked him.

"Uh no, I don't dance." Jeremy said.

"Sure you do." She said, as she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the dance floor.

Stefan walked up behind Elena,"she is making your brother dance?"

"Yeah, should i be worried that she is going to corrupt him?" Elena asked, half-joking.

"Yep." Stefan said while laughed as he walked off, Elena glanced at her brother and Francesca before running off to catch up with Stefan.

Damon stood off to the side and watched Francesca as she danced with Jeremy. He didn't know why it bothered him so much that she was dancing with him, but it did. He was about to go crazy with jealous till luckily the song ended and she walked off to the side where a table was set up filled with finger foods.

"You having fun molesting young kids?" Damon asked, as she stood beside her.

She rolled her eyes as she popped a potato chip in her mouth and said,"I wasn't."

"That's what it looked like, and with you being so much older then him that is called robbing the cradle." He said sarcastically.

"Whatever Damon." She mumbled, as she went to walk off.

He grabbed her arm to stop her then said,"dance with me."

She scoffed, as she jerked her arm back and crossed her arms in front of her chest before saying,"I don't think so."

"Why?"

"Cause you're being a jerk."

He grabbed one of her hands before saying,"I'm sorry, i won't say anything else. Just dance with me."

"Ok." She whispered, as he led her to the dance floor as a slow song begin to play.

_*The grey ceiling on the earth_

_Well it's lasted for a while_

_Take my thoughts for what they're worth_

_I've been acting like a child_

_Your opinion, what is that?_

_It's just a different point of view._

Damon wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close as she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his chest. He kissed the top of her head, as they swayed slowly back and forth.

_What else, what else can I do?_

_I said I'm sorry, yeah, I'm sorry_

_I said I'm sorry, but what for?_

_If I hurt you then I hate myself_

_I don't want to hate myself,_

_don't want to hurt you_

_Why do you choose your pain if you only knew_

_How much I love you ,love you._

Damon rubbed his hands up and down her back, as he lowered his head and lightly kissed her bare shoulder. She sighed, as she ran her hands through his hair. She felt like her and Damon were the only ones in the room as he held her close.

_Well I won't be your winter_

_And i won't be anyone's excuse to cry_

_And we can be forgiven_

_And I will be here_

He looked into her eyes and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. He laid his hand on her cheek and lightly stroked it. Then he light rubbed her bottom lip with his thumb before he leaned down and gently kissed her lips. She moved her head to the side, deepen the kiss. She felt a tingle from head to toe as he lightly massaged her tongue with his.

_Old picture on the shelf_

_It's been there for a while_

_A frozen image of ourselves_

_We were acting like a child_

_Innocence and in a trance_

_A dance that lasted for a while_

_Read my eyes just like a diary_

_Oh remember, please remember_

_Well I'm not a beggar, but whats more_

_If I hurt you then I hate myself_

_I don't want to hate myself, don't want to hurt you_

_Why do you choose that pain if you only knew_

_How much I love you._

Damon ended the kiss and looked into her eyes again before whispering,"I love you Ces, I always have and i always will. Please stay with me."

She looked at him with tears in her eyes, she really wanted to believe the words he was saying but she kept hearing Katherine's voice in her head saying,'he never loved you.'

"I...I can't do this. I'm sorry." She whispered, as she ran off in the middle of the song.

Damon followed her and grabbed her arm before she could walk out the door,"what the hell is going on with you? One minute your hot, the next your cold."

"Did you tell Katherine about the clearing in the woods?" She asked quietly.

"What? What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"Did you tell her about the clearing in the woods?" She asked again.

"Yes, but i never took her there if that's the problem. That was our place."

She took a step back in shock, she couldn't believe Katherine was right. Without another word she pushed open the door and walked outside. She ran into the alley and leaned against the brick wall as she cried, she couldn't believe it, Damon never loved her.

_"Why does he keep telling me he loves me then? Why does he keep messing with my head?"_ She thought to herself.

She took a deep breath and wiped the tears off of her cheeks before taking a few steps toward the front of the building. Before she could walk out of the alley, someone stepped out of the shadows and blocked her.

"Hello Francesca." A male voice said.

"Jude." She said in surprise while taking a couple of steps back.

Jude rushed toward her and wrapped a hand around her neck before slamming her into the wall.

He leaned in close to her before saying,"so this is where you have been hiding."

_*Song-Sister Hazel-'Your Winter.'_

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n-Hey everyone, hope you enjoyed the chapter. I have been looking forward to writing this chapter for awhile, recently when i heard that song i had the scene in my head of them dancing and the words to the song affecting them. I think the song is perfect for Damon and Ces, i hope you all agree, if not it's ok :) Big thanks to sam riggs,David Fishwick and xoxobianca for reviewing the last chapter and thanks to everyone reading._


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"I think you and I need to have a little talk." Jude said, as his brown eyes stared into hers.

"About what?" She whispered innocently, while his hand was around her throat.

"Oh i think you know. You killed Piper."

Francesca tried to shrug before whispering,"i did you a favor, she was a bitch."

Jude slammed her against the wall again and tighten his grip on her neck, she tried to pull at his hands as it became harder and harder to breath.

"I loved her and you took her from me. Now I'm going to kill you." He threatened.

"Do it." She whispered, she had no reason to live anymore.

"Your wish is my command." He said, before raising a stake above his head. She turned her head and closed her eyes, as she waited for him to drive a stake into her heart.

After a few seconds of nothing happening she opened her eyes and saw Damon standing behind Jude, she glanced down at Jude and noticed he had a stake coming out of his heart. Damon pushed him aside and stood in front of her.

"You can thank me later." Damon said angrily, as he threw her jacket and keys at her before walking away.

She slid down the brick wall and covered her face as she cried. She had so many confusing thoughts running through her head. She thought she had no reason to live anymore, but when she opened her eyes and saw Damon she knew she found her reason. She wanted to be with him, her was her reason to live.

_"Unfortunately, he doesn't love me." _She thought to herself sadly.

She stood up and knew what she had to do, she had to do what she did best. Run.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

She drove quickly to the Salvatore house and ran upstairs to her bedroom. She grabbed her bag and begin throwing her clothes inside. She was so lost in thought she didn't hear Damon walk in till he spoke up.

"Of course you're leaving now, why did i even think this time would be different." He said bitterly.

"I can't stay." She whispered, as tears fell down her face.

Damon walked up to her and grabbed her right arm, spinning her around to face him,"why?"

She tried to turn away but he grabbed her other arm and shook her forcefully before yelling,"answer me."

"Cause i love you." She yelled.

He let go of her and took a step back in surprise, that was the first time she ever said those words out loud to him.

"If you love me, why are you leaving?" He asked quietly.

"Cause you don't love me."

"What? Are you crazy? Ces i love you, i have always loved you. You know that."

"That's not what Katherine said."

"Katherine? Who cares what Katherine says, you know she is nothing but a liar. You told me that centuries ago."

"I know and usually i wouldn't believe her. But she knew things and when i asked you about it, you said it was true."

"Wait hold up, what did she say? and what did i agree to?" He asked, confused.

"She told me you never loved me. She knew about the clearing in the woods, she knew about you taking me there and giving me a ring, she knew that was the first time you told me you loved me. She said you told her all of this." Francesca explained.

Damon sighed as he rubbed his face with his hands,"that bitch. I never said any of that Ces."

"But you told me you told her about the clearing." She argued.

"Yes i did, i told her about taking you there but i never said i didn't love you." He said getting angry.

"Oh." She whispered.

"What more do i have to do to prove to you that i love you? You know what i think, i think you are looking for any little excuse to run away from me. You believe Katherine's lies over me and don't think i didn't hear you telling that Jude guy tonight to kill you. Why are you so eager to die?" He yelled.

"I don't know." She yelled back.

"I'm going to need more then 'i don't know'. Why do you always run Ces? What are you running from?" He yelled, as he walked closer to her.

"You." She whispered.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"I've been running from my feeling for you."

"Why?"

She sighed,"I loved someone once upon a time and he was taken from me. I swore i would never fall in love again, cause it hurt like hell but then i met you and I've been running every since cause i was scared."

"Scared of what?" He asked quietly, as he stood in front of her.

"Scared of loving you and losing you. I love you so damn much Damon and it would kill me if i lost you."

He wrapped his arms around her before saying,"you will never lose me. I'm not going anywhere, we can be together forever. If you just give me a chance, give us a chance."

"Ok." She whispered.

"Ok? Ok what?"

She looked up at him and smiled,"ok, I'll stay and give us a chance."

"I like the sound of that almost as much as i like hearing you say 'i love you'." He said with a smile.

She chuckled before saying,"I love you Damon."

"I love you to Ces." He said before kissing her passionately.

She reached over to knock her bag onto the floor,_"I'll unpack later."_ She thought happily to herself, as she laid on the bed and pulled Damon on top of her.

He lightly kissed her forehead,cheeks, chin and lips before kissing down to her neck. He grabbed the bottom of her tank top and pulled it over her head. He kissed both shoulders before kissing down to her chest then all the way down to her belly button. She bite her lip and groaned as he slowly unbutton and unzipped her black jeans. He lightly kissed above the waistband of her panties.

"Damon, please stop teasing me." She groaned.

He smiled against her skin then kissed her inner thigh before sitting back on his heels and taking his shirt off. He threw it in the floor before unbutton and unzipping his jeans. He laid down on top of her and begin kissing her again as she pushed his jeans down. Her panties and bra, as well as his boxers were quickly removed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled, she couldn't think of anywhere else she would rather be then right here with him as he made love to her all night long.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

The next morning, Damon opened his eyes and smiled when he thought about the night before, he rolled over onto his side and his smile grew wider when he saw her laying beside him sleeping. It was the first time he went to sleep beside her and woke up beside her.

He threw his arm around her waist and lightly kissed her bare shoulder. She rolled over and yawned as she opened her eyes and looked at him.

He smiled,"morning beautiful."

She groaned then said,"this is why i always leave before the morning."

"What do you mean?" He asked confused.

"Now comes the awkward after sex talk." She said laughing.

He laughed with her as he rolled over on to his back and pulled her body closer to him. She laid her head on his chest and sighed happily as he ran his hand through her hair.

"Tell me about yourself." He said.

She lifted her head and looked at him,"you already know me silly."

"I know things about you. Like your favorite color is purple, you love the Beatles, you like liquor mixed in your blood, you want a cat but you never stay one place long enough to have one, you think pizza is the greatest food ever."

"It is the greatest." She said laughing.

"Tell me something real, tell me about your past. Where are you from? When were you turned?"

"I'm from Ireland, I was turned October of 1500."

"What happened?"

"You know i mentioned last night i was in love once before?"

He nodded his head and waited for her to continue. She took a deep breath before saying,"I was married, it was our one year anniversary. I had went into town to buy him a gift. When i returned, i saw him laying on the floor. He had two holes in his neck and he wasn't moving, i knew he was dead. I tried to run to him but a man grabbed me, that was the first time i ever saw a vampire. He told me, he had planned to kill me but i was to pretty to die so he gave me some of his blood then snapped my neck. When i came to, he was sleeping so i ran."

She sighed as she thought about that terrible time,"i ran back into town and was hiding in a dark alley cause the sun was hurting my eyes. A old homeless woman approached me and asked if i was ok. At the time i didn't know why i did it, but i drained her and that's how i become a vampire."

"Then what happened?" He could tell the story didn't end there.

"Not to long after that, Henry, the vampire that turned me, found me in the alley. He took me with him and kept me hostage for years, then one day i staked him and ran."

Damon pulled her closer to him, as he thought about all she went through. No wonder she ran all the time.

"After that i went to England for awhile, that's where i first met Katherine. Trust me when i say it was hate at first sight. After England i traveled all over for awhile then i ended up in Mystic Falls. Where i did the one thing i said i would never do."

"What?"

"I fell in love." She with a smile,"there was just something about you, you made me feel alive again which scared the crap out of me."

"So you ran." He added.

"And ran and ran and ran." She said laughing.

"But not anymore?"

"Nope, I'm done running. You are stuck with me Salvatore." She said smiling.

"I think i can handle that." He said, as he rolled her over onto her back. He softly kissed her then looked into her eyes before saying,"I'm going to love you forever. You never have to run again, you're safe with me."

She smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, she don't think she could be any happier. She was right where she belonged, she was finally home and she was never leaving again.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n-yay they finally got together :) Are you happy about it or did you like them better apart? Also this is not the end of the story, I'm planning something else just haven't got it all worked out in my head yet, so i will update as soon as i can. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Big thanks to xoxobianca,shippolove844,sam riggs and David Fishwick. Also thanks to everyone reading and adding the story to their favorites :)_


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Over the next few days, Damon and Francesca didn't leave the bed much other than to grab food and blood. Stefan and Elena would knocked repeatedly on the door, but they refused to leave the room and yelled 'go away' every time.

Finally, Damon and Francesca decided it was time to join the real world, but first they were going to take a quick nap. Damon held her close as they fell fast asleep.

A hour later, Francesca slowly opened her eyes and rolled over to a empty bed. She sat up and wrapped the sheet around her bare chest before calling out for Damon. She used her vampire hearing to listen downstairs, after hearing no noises upstairs and downstairs, she grabbed her clothes off the floor and grabbed her cellphone. She dialed Damon's number and walked over to look out the window as she waited for him to answer.

"Now who is running away?" She asked him when he answered, she noticed her car missing outside.

He laughed,"I'm not running babe, i went out to get you a pizza since you have been crying for it for days."

"I haven't been crying for pizza."

"Crying,whining,bitching. Take your pick." He joked.

"You're a jerk, you know that right?" She said laughing.

"You know I'm just joking baby."

"So that means I'm really not getting a pizza?" She pouted.

"Yes you are getting a pizza. I wanted to surprise you, i thought i would be back before you wake up." He explained.

"Well hurry up, I'm hungry."

"For me or pizza?"

"Both." She said with a grin.

"Alright i will be there soon. What do you want to do tonight?" He asked her.

"I don't know. Maybe...oh hang on someone's at the door." She said, when she heard the doorbell ring downstairs.

She quickly ran downstairs and opened the door then smiled when she saw it was Elena.

"Who is it?" Damon asked.

"It's Elena. I'll see you when you get here."

"Ok, that's fine. I got Stefan beeping in anyway."

"Well if he is looking for his girlfriend. Tell him she's over here."

"Alright i will, love you babe."

She smiled then said,"love you too."

Damon clicked over then asked,"what do you want Stefan?"

"Elena and I, want you and Ces to go to the grill with us tonight. You two have been locked up in that room long enough, we will not take 'no' for a answer." Stefan joked.

"Wait, Elena is with you now?" Damon asked, getting worried.

"Yeah of course she is, where else would she be?" Stefan asked with a laugh.

"That bitch." Damon mumbled, as he hung up the phone and drove as fast as he could.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Francesca hung up the phone and slid her phone back in her pocket before turning to face Elena.

"So can i help you Ele..." Francesca started to say till she saw the evil look in her eye, she sighed before saying,"Katherine, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing. I was sure i had killed you but imagine my surprise when i saw you walk into this house days ago. Then i tracked down Jude and told him where you were but surprise surprise you lived through that too." Katherine said.

"I guess I'm like a cat, i have nine lives." Francesca said sarcastically.

"Well if you don't want to lose another life, i suggest you leave Franny."

"Sorry, but I'm not going anywhere Kat. There is nothing you can say that will make me leave."

"How about i show you something instead?"

Francesca rolled her eyes before saying,"there is nothing you can say or show me that will make me leave."

"We'll see about that." Katherine said, as she held up a ring. It was a sterling silver claddagh ring.

Francesca stood frozen as her eyes widen,"where did you get that?"

"Where do you think?" Katherine said, as she tossed the ring to Francesca.

Francesca caught the ring in the air then looked down at it with a surprise look on her face. She looked back up at Katherine before asking again,"where did you get this?"

"Oh just this old vampire i know, i think you might know him too. His name is Henry." Katherine said with a smug look on her face.

"That's not possible, i killed him." Francesca said forcefully.

"Well you didn't do a good job, cause he is still alive and is looking for you. If you don't want him to know where you are, i think you better leave town quick before i 'accidentally' let it slip where you are." Katherine said, using air quotes around the word 'accidentally'.

"You wouldn't."

"Oh i would, i will tell him exactly where you are then he will kill you,Damon,Stefan,Elena and anyone else he wants and you know he will do it. So don't test me Franny, i will ruin your life." Katherine said angrily.

"Why do you want me gone so bad? Why do you hate me so much?"

"You don't remember? " Katherine scoffed when Francesca shook her head 'no' then continued,"of course you don't remember. You remember England, where we first met?"

"I remember that yeah, but what did i do that was so bad that you would spend centuries making my life a living hell?" Francesca asked.

"I had a good thing going in England, after i was ran out of Bulgaria i finally found a place where i belong and i fell in love. But after you showed up he wanted nothing to do with me, he was obsessed with you then you got him killed. From that moment on i swore i would never let you be happy then when you came to Mystic Falls and fell in love with Damon, i knew i had to take him from you. Just like you have taken from me." Katherine explained.

"Katherine that is crazy, i never took anyone from you."

"Remember James?"

Francesca thought back to her time in England and a man named James. Then she remembered he would always follow her around and shower her with attention. Then one day, tired of the attention she had sent James on a fake errand to get him out of her hair for a few hours. Her planned had backfired when James was accidentally killed for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. She had forgotten all about that till now, she looked at Katherine before saying,"Katherine i am so sorry, i never meant for anything to happen to James and i certainly didn't know you loved him."

"I'm sorry isn't going to make things better. You have till tomorrow night to leave or I'm telling Henry where you are." Katherine said before rushing out of the house.

"Katherine, wait..." Francesca called out, but it was to late, Katherine was already gone.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Damon pulled up in front of the house and jumped out of the car. He ran inside calling for Francesca and became worried when there was no answer. He ran up the stairs and into her room, he sighed with relief when he saw her sitting in the middle of the bed deep in thought.

"Oh thank God." He said, as he sat down beside her and wrapped his arms around her.

After holding her close for a few seconds he pushed away from her and looked her over before asking,"are you ok? Did Katherine hurt you?"

"No, she didn't touch me. She just gave me this." Francesca said, as she handed Damon the ring.

Damon looked at the ring then looked at her with a confused look on his face before asking,"what is this?"

"It was my wedding ring. Henry took it from me when he turned me, i never saw it again till now." Francesca explained.

"Why does Katherine have it then?"

"To prove that Henry is still alive and after me."

"What? But, you killed him."

"I thought i killed him, i didn't stick around to make sure. I staked him and ran."

Damon sighed, as he ran his hands over his face then said,"maybe she's lying. You know how Katherine is, maybe this ring is a fake."

"No, it's the real thing. Look on the inside, see how it has a small 'E+F' engraved on the band, that's our initials, Ethan+Francesca. There is no way Katherine knew that to fake it." She explained.

"So what does she want? I'm assuming Katherine didn't tell you all of this out of the kindness of her heart. What does she want from you?"

Francesca sighed then looked at Damon before saying,"she wants me to leave town and i think she's right."

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n-Hey everyone, i am so sorry it took me so long to write and post another chapter. I had to think some things through first, i kind of knew what i wanted to happen next but i just needed a little more time to think about it. Also i know in the show Katherine only loves herself lol but in my story she was in love one time and she blames Francesca for losing him, that is why she hates her so bad. Anyways i hope you liked this chapter and big thanks to Isabella95,David Fishwick,xoxobianca and dragonflyer30 for reviewing the last chapter. Thanks everyone for reading and please review :) _


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"No, you're not going to run away again Ces." Damon told her.

"I'm not running away Damon, I'm just leaving. But, only for a little bit. I will come back." Francesca promised.

"No I'm not going to agree to this plan."

"Damon just listen to me. I'll leave, Henry will follow me, then I'll throw him off track and come right back." She explained.

"At least stay till we find out if this ring is the real thing or not." He said to her, while holding the sterling silver claddagh ring that once was Francesca's wedding ring.

She sighed in frustration before saying,"i already told you, it's the real thing. That ring was my wedding ring."

"I'm not trying to call you a liar, all I'm just trying to say is it's been a long time since you have seen it. So let's make sure what Katherine's saying is true before you go running off."

"There isn't time for all of that." She said, as she stood up from the bed and grabbed her bag to pack start packing. She knew it was only a matter of time before Henry found her.

"Ces, stop it. You're not going anywhere." He yelled at her, as he pushed her bag off the bed.

"Damon, i have to go." She said slowly, trying to get him to understand.

"What else did she say?"

"What?" Francesca asked with a confused look, as she grabbed her bag off of the floor.

"What else did Katherine say to you? It must have been bad if you're packing to leave, unless this was your plan all along."

She turned to look at him before saying,"what do you mean 'my plan'?"

"Oh come on, this is typical Ces. As soon as things get too real, you run. Stupid me for thinking it would be different this time." He said bitterly.

"It is different this time. I don't want to leave you."

"Then don't." He yelled.

"I have to." She yelled back.

"Why?"

She shrugged before saying,"what's the point in telling you? This is just 'typical' of me right? This was my 'plan' right? If that's what you really believe then you must not have been listening to me the last few days. I told you, i love you and i want to be with you. But i guess my words don't mean anything to you."

"Not when your actions are running." He said bitterly.

"Maybe you'll believe me when i get back, cause i am coming back to you Damon." She promised, as she threw her clothes in her bag.

"Don't." He said angrily.

She turned to look at him, he was standing behind her with his arms crossed over his chest and looking very angry.

"Don't what?" She asked confused.

"Don't come back."

"What?" She asked shocked.

He took a step closer to her before saying,"if you walk out that door and leave me, don't you dare come back."

"But Damon..."

"No Ces, i can't do this anymore. I can't keep getting my hopes up thinking you're finally going to stay for good only to have you leave again. I won't do it anymore." He interrupted her.

"Damon i have to do this." She whispered.

"Do what you have to do and I'll do what i have to do." He said angrily.

She felt tears fill her eyes, when he laid the claddagh ring in her hand then looked into her eyes before whispering,"good-bye Ces."

He turned around and walked out of the room. He made his way downstairs and into the study, he suddenly needed a very strong drink.

Francesca sat down on the bed and covered her face with her hands as she cried. She really didn't want to leave, she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Damon. But she couldn't risk it, if she stayed Henry would show up and kill everyone she loved. She would never forgive herself if she let that happen. She had to leave.

Downstairs in the study, Damon stood in front of the fireplace and tried to ignore her cries that were coming from her room. He wanted nothing more then to run upstairs, wrap his arms around her and take everything back. But he couldn't do it, he had to be strong this time. They were suppose to be a couple, they were suppose to fight together, but like always she would rather do things on her own then include him. He was tired of being left behind broken-hearted, so this time he was telling her good-bye for good.

He closed his eyes when he heard her walking down the stairs. She paused at the office doorway, she could hear him inside the room and she wanted to walk into that room and ask him for help. She knew he would help with Henry, she knew he would even die protecting her, but she couldn't let him do it. She had to do this on her own.

She sighed sadly as she walked to the front door and opened it. She turned to look at the doorway one last time, she secretly hoped he would come running to her and forbid her to leave, but she knew he was done with her now. She had lost him forever.

She wiped away a tear that fell on her cheek then walked out the door, she left the front door wide open as she walked to her car.

Damon set his glass full of dark liquor down then used his vampire speed to rush across the room to the huge floor to ceiling windows. He pushed back the dark colored curtain and watched her as she opened the car door and sat down behind the wheel. There was a huge part of him that wanted to rush outside and stop her from driving away, but instead he stood frozen in the same spot as she cranked the car and drove away.

Damon was still standing in the same spot minutes later when Stefan and Elena showed up. They rushed over to Damon, wanting to know what was going on and where Francesca was. Damon was in no mood to talk to them or anyone at the moment, instead he grabbed his glass and left the room. He slowly walked up the stairs and into his bedroom, he shut the bedroom door and leaned against it. Once he was safely alone in his room, he slid down the door and begin to cry.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Francesca parked her car beside Fell's Church then got out. She walked over to the Katherine who was standing off to the side, deep in thought.

"I knew i would find you here." Francesca said, as she stood beside Katherine.

"What do you want Franny?"

"You win." Francesca said sadly.

"What?"

"I said, you win. I broke Damon's heart and I'm leaving town. That's what you wanted right?" Francesca said bitterly.

"Wow, i can't believe you actually listened to me. I thought you would fight me on it."

"I didn't have a choice, I'm not going to let Henry kill another man i love."

"Aw how sweet." Katherine said sarcastically.

"I just want to make sure you'll hold up your end of the deal. I leave town and you'll keep your mouth shut right? You won't tell Henry about Mystic Falls or Damon?" Francesca asked her.

"That was the deal. I won't say a word, my lips are sealed." She said pretending to zip her lips.

"Thanks." Francesca mumbled as she turned to walk away then turned back around and said,"oh one more thing."

"What?" Katherine asked, feeling annoyed.

"Where's Henry?"

"Why?"

"Cause I'm going to kill him for good then I'm coming for you Katherine. So watch your back bitch." Francesca said forcefully.

"You'll never find him, just like you'll never kill me." Katherine said with a smug smile.

"We'll see about that." Francesca said with a smile, as she turned and walked away.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n-Hey everyone, i am so so sorry i haven't updated in awhile. I had started a new story and got hooked on it so my other stories were ignored. I hope you all will forgive me and also i hope you all still like this story and will read the latest chapter. I actually almost cried when Francesca left Damon :( it was so sad, hopefully i made someone cry. That would make me happy lol just kidding. Oh yeah i posted a picture on my profile of a claddagh ring and amethyst ring, in my mind it's what Francesca's rings would look like. Big thanks to xoxobianca13, David Fishwick and shippolove844 for reviewing the last chapter. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, please review and let me know what you think :)_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

It had been two weeks since Francesca left the Salvatore house. She had put a call out to all of her contacts, asking if anyone had been asking or looking for her.

Her friend Max had called earlier, he had heard a rumor that someone in North Carolina had been asking for her. He was going to call and see what he could find out, now she was waiting for him to call her back.

She paced across the floor at the hotel she was staying in at the moment. She honestly couldn't remember the name of the hotel, there had been so many after leaving Damon.

She stopped pacing and sighed, there wasn't a minute that went by that she didn't think of Damon and it made her un-beating heart hurt. She hated walking out that door but she honestly thought she was doing the right then, but now? She wasn't sure what the right thing was anymore.

Before she could think anymore, her cellphone begin to ring, without looking at the caller ID she quickly answered it and said."Max? Did you find out anything?"

"Who's Max?" Stefan asked.

She sighed then said,"hey Stefan."

"You know Ces, I'm beginning to think you're avoiding me. I've been trying to call you for days."

"I'm sorry Stefan, I've been busy."

"Yeah right, what the hell is going on with you Ces? Damon isn't talking. All i know is i came home to find Damon heartbroken and you gone. I guess i should be use to that, but i thought this time was different." Stefan said bitterly.

Francesca sighed again then said,"this time is different, i didn't leave Damon. I just had to leave town for a little bit, i was planning on coming back, but Damon is the one who said 'don't come back'."

"What is going on?" Stefan asked again.

"The vampire who turned me, Henry, is looking for me and Katherine said if i didn't leave town she would tell him where i was."

"Wait, hold on. Katherine is behind this? Come on Ces, you know all she does is lie."

"I know, but she had proof Stefan and i believe her. She said she was going to tell Henry about Mystic Falls and he would kill not only me but you, Elena and Damon. I can't let that happen, so I'm going to find him and kill him once and for all." Francesca explained.

"Then let us help you, Damon and I will help you find him and kill him. Just come back."

"I can't Stefan. I'm not going to pull you two into my mess, I'm going to take care of this myself."

"Then you'll come back to Mystic Falls?" Stefan asked.

"I don't know. Damon doesn't want me back." She said quietly.

"Of course he does, he may never admit it but he misses you. All he does is sit in his room and drink, he's a mess and i would bet you are too. You two love each other to much to be apart."

Francesca wiped the tears that had fallen from her eyes before saying,"I do love him."

"Then call him and work this out. Then when you're finished come back to him."

"I'll think about it."

"Don't think about it, just do it. I swear you two are stubborn." Stefan mumbled.

"I got to go Stefan, tell Damon i love him."

"Tell him yourself, when you call him."

"Please just tell him." She whispered before hanging up the phone.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and covered her face with her hands as more tears fell from her eyes. She hated leaving Damon, as more days went by she was closer and closer to going back to him and take her chances with Henry if and when he showed up in town.

She uncovered her face and looked down at her phone, Stefan was right. She should just call Damon, make up then go back to Mystic Falls.

She went to her contacts list and highlighted Damon's name then moved her finger over to the call button. Before she could make the call, her cellphone rung again.

She looked at the caller ID this time and saw it was Max, she answered then said,"what did you find out?"

"There is a man asking for you. He's in a small town in North Carolina."

"What town and where can i find him?" She asked.

While Max told her the town and hotel she quickly wrote it down, then said,"thanks Max, i owe you."

"Just be careful baby girl, if it is really Henry you know he's going to try to kill you."

"I know." She said sadly then added,"Max can you do me one more favor?"

"Sure baby girl."

"I'm going to send you a letter, if anything happens to me will you give it to Damon Salvatore?"

"Of course."

"Thanks Max."

"Be careful." He said again, as he hung up the phone.

Francesca stood up from the bed and walked across the floor to the small desk that was in the room. She grabbed a piece of hotel stationery and began to write.

_Damon-_

_I can't even begin to tell you how sorry i am for leaving you and not just this time, but every time. I was just scared to fall in love again so it was easier to run from my feelings, but the truth is i loved you from the first moment i saw you. _

_I want nothing more than to be in your arms right now, but i hope you can understand why i can't do that right now. I have to find Henry and stop him, i can't chance him hurting you or worse killing you. I would never forgive myself if i got you killed._

_I love you so much Damon. I hope you believe that and i hope one day you will forgive me. __I'm sending you a couple of things so you will never forget me._

_All my love-  
_

_Ces_

Francesca wiped a tear off of her cheek, as she folded up the letter and put it inside a envelope. She picked up the picture that her and Damon took at the carnival. She smiled as she looked at the four pictures, then she slid the picture inside the envelope. Next she took off the amethyst ring, he gave her centuries ago. She kissed the ring then slid it into the envelope too. She quickly sealed the envelope,placed a stamp on it then wrote down Max's address.

She stood up from the desk and grabbed the letter before walking back over to the bed. She grabbed her duffel bag then walked out of the room.

After dropping the letter in a big blue mail box, she walked over to her car and got inside. She looked down at the piece of paper that had the location of Henry wrote down before pulling out onto the road.

"This ends now." She said forcefully to herself, as she drove down the road.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

"Who you talking to?" Damon slurred, as he walked into the study.

Stefan slid his cellphone into his pocket then turned to his brother and said,"nice to see you out of your room."

"I was out of liquor." He said, as he walked over to the bar and grabbed a full bottle of dark liquor.

"Damon you really need to stop drinking, Ces would hate to see you like this."

"Yeah well Ces isn't here is she?"

"She will be back." Stefan told him.

"How do you know that? Wait a minute, you talked to her didn't you?"

"Yeah, i did. Damon, she's just as heartbroken as you are."

Damon scoffed then said,"I'm not heartbroken, i just don't care anymore."

"Yes you do."

"No i don't, screw that selfish bitch. All she thinks about is herself." Damon said angrily.

"She's doing this for all of us. She's protecting us."

"What?" Damon asked confused.

"She didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Damon asked angrily, he was getting pissed off that Stefan knew something he didn't.

"Katherine is behind all of this. She told Ces, she would tell Henry where she was and he would kill us all. Me, Elena, you and Ces. Ces didn't want to take the chance that something would happen to any of us so she left to go find him and kill him.

Damon sat down on the couch in shock, he had no idea she was going after Henry, he thought she was just going to hide from him till he went away.

"She can't go after him alone." Damon said.

"I know, that's what i tried to tell her, but she doesn't listen."

Damon stood up and sat down the bottle of liquor then begin to walk out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Stefan asked.

"I'm going to go find her."

"How?"

"I'm going force Katherine to tell me where Ces is."

"Katherine is never going to tell you anything."

"She will either tell me or I'm going to kill her." Damon said forcefully, as he walked out the door.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n-hey everyone, I'm so sorry i haven't updated in awhile but i had a little writers block on this story. I wasn't sure where i wanted to go with this story next, but i know now. Or at least i hope so lol Big thanks to shippolove844, xoxobianca13 and David Fishwick for reviewing. I hope you three and everyone else enjoyed this chapter. Thanks everyone for reading and please review :)_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Francesca walked into the fancy hotel Max told her about._"This is the kind of place Henry would stay at, he did have expense taste" _She thought to herself, as she walked over to the bank of elevators and got inside the first one that opened.

She couldn't believe she was this close to finding Henry, _" hopefully this will be over soon." _She thought to herself as she walked out of the elevator and down the hall, looking for room 803.

She stopped walking and stood in front of the door, this was it, no turning back now.

She used her vampire hearing to listen for any noise inside the room, she lowered her eyebrows in confusion when she heard nothing coming from the room. She wrapped her hand around the doorknob and slowly turned the knob before pushing the door open. She walked into the empty room and sighed, whoever was here, was gone now.

She slammed the door shut and took the elevator back down to the lobby, she walked across the floor and walked up to the young guy running the front desk.

"Can i help you?" He asked her.

"Yeah, where's the guy from room 803."

The guy typed a few things on the keyboard before looking at the screen and saying,"he checked out."

"When?"

"A couple hours ago."

"Did he say where he was going?"

"I'm sorry miss, I can't give out that information."

Francesca reached across the counter and grabbed the collar of his shirt, as he looked into her eyes she widen them to compelled him then said,"you will tell me where he went, now."

"I heard him on the phone, he was planning on meeting someone."

"Where?" She called out, causing people in the lobby to look over at her. She released the guy then asked again quietly,"where?"

"He told the person over the phone to meet him at the old mansion outside of town."

"How do i get there?"

A few minutes later, Francesca walked out of the hotel with directions in her hand. She slid behind the wheel and headed toward the mansion, she was ready to take on Henry, she was ready to end this.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Close to thirty minutes later, Francesca parked beside the old white mansion and slowly got out of the car. She glanced around the property and tried to hear if anyone was outside or inside the house.

Everything was eerie quiet, Francesca felt a chill down her spine when she looked up at the old mansion. She felt like she was being watched, which was what Henry loved to do. He loved to hide out of sight and stare at people, he felt it gave him a edge over them. While the person tried to figure out what was going on, Henry would come out of hiding and attack.

She grabbed her purse out of the backseat then slowly made her way toward the house. She lightly pushed the front door open before taking a small step inside the house. She stood in the foyer and tried to glance around the house the best she could. A staircase was in front of her, on the right was a sitting room and living room, on the left was a dining room and kitchen, but so far no Henry.

She took a few steps toward the sitting room and glanced in the room. She searched every shadowy hiding place with her vampire sight but saw noone inside the room. She took a few more steps and walked toward the living room, before setting a foot inside, she knew she found him. She could sense him right away.

"Hello my love, i knew you would return to me one day." Henry said, as he walked out of the shadows dressed all in black, from his hair down to his feet.

"That's not why I'm here." She said calmly, hoping she sounded brave.

"Then why are you here?" He asked, as he took a step toward her.

"I-I-I..." She stuttered, now that she was standing in front of him, she was feeling very scared and nervous.

"Shh it's ok love." He whispered, as he pushed a lock of hair behind her ear then added,"there's no need to be scared. I would never hurt you, even though i have every reason to."

She looked into his dark eyes and felt confused, she thought he would try to kill her the first chance he got. Instead he was being very nice and calm.

"Don't worry i won't kill you." He said with a smile,as if reading her mind.

"Why not? I tried to kill you."

He placed his hands on either side of her face then said,"cause you're my sole mate."

"What?" She asked in shock.

"I choose you a long time ago Francesca, you're my meant to be. I want to be with you forever."

She couldn't help herself as she laughed out loud then asked,"you're joking right?"

"No, you will be my queen and together we will rule. Every vampire in the world will have to answer to us or else."

"So in other words, we will be vampire royalty?"

"Yes my love, so what do you say? Will you join me?"

"No, no i won't." She said forcefully.

"Why not?" He asked, getting angry.

"Cause i love someone and he is who i want to be with forever."

"Then we have a problem."

"Why?"

"Cause I'm not going to let you go. You will be mine." He said with a evil smile.

"You'll have to kill me first."

"That can be arranged." He said before charging toward her.

She quickly grabbed a stake out of her purse, but before she could raise it to stake him, he tackled her to the floor. The force of hitting the floor caused her to drop the stake, she reached out a hand to grab it as Henry straddled her body. He grabbed her head and slammed it repeatedly against the floor, she cried out in pain and grabbed her head as her vision begin to blur.

While she was busy holding her head, Henry grabbed the stake she dropped and raised it above his head before saying,"if i can't have you, noone will."

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Katherine smiled to herself as she walked down the hallway carrying shopping bags. She walked into the small room of the bed and breakfast she was saying in. She choose a cozy bed and breakfast on the edge of town, hoping noone would find her. She hated to be found, even when she was little she hated the game 'hide and seek'. She hated the feeling of hiding as you waited for someone to find you, it was just a way of giving up control and Katherine always liked to be in control.

She walked further into the room and sat the shopping bags on the bed then froze, she wasn't alone.

"How did you find me?" She asked the person standing behind her.

"You're not as sneaky as you think you are." Damon answered, as he walked around her then stood in front of her.

"You just can't stay away from me can you Damon?" She asked softly, as she flashed him a sexy grin.

"I'm not here cause i want you Katherine."

"Then why are you here?" She asked, as she snaked her arms around his neck.

"For information."

She ignored his answer as she ran her fingers through his hair and asked,"when did you get so sexy?"

"Cut it out Katherine." He snapped, as he removed her arms from around him and took a step away from her.

"I mean it Damon, you are so hot right now." She said, as she walked toward him, slowly moving her hips from side to side.

"Your crap doesn't work on me anymore."

"Oh come on, you know you still want me." She whispered, as she pressed her body against his.

He looked into her eyes then sighed before saying,"you're right, i do want you."

"You do?" She asked, a little surprised. She didn't think she would wear him down that fast.

"Mhmm." He mumbled as he nodded his head, then added,"I want you to tell me where Ces is."

She looked at him angrily, he had tricked her. She hated being turned down and tricked.

"Where is she? I know you made her leave and she went after Henry, and i bet you told her where he was."

"I have no idea what you are talking about." She said, playing dumb as she walked away from him.

He grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her back toward him before asking again,"where is she?"

"Dead." She said with a smirk.

"You're lying." He said, as he felt his heart break at the thought of losing Ces for good, he had to believe she was still alive and Katherine was lying.

She shrugged then said,"if she isn't yet, she will be."

Damon grabbed her other arm then slammed her back into the wall before yelling,"where is she?"

"I can't tell you. Actually i take that back, i can tell you, i just don't want to." She said with a evil grin.

"If you don't tell me, i will kill you. I'm not joking here Katherine, i mean it."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes,"you won't kill me Damon, you know there's a small part of you that still loves me."

"We'll see about that." He said, before quickly grabbing a stake out of a pocket on the inside of his jacket and stabbing it in Katherine's heart.

She gasped in pain and looked at him with a shocked look on her face. She couldn't believe he actually staked her.

Damon took a step back and watched as she fell to the floor, he waited a few minutes to make sure she was really dead before he turned around and walked out of the room.

He knew Ces was still out there somewhere and he was going to find her, he just hoped he wasn't to late.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n-hey everyone, i am so so so sorry i haven't updated this story sooner. I thought i knew where i wanted to go with it but then i had a new idea so i was going back and forth in my mind about how i wanted to go. Sadly this story is almost over and i know how i want it to end, it's just getting there and that's where i keep changing my mind. But finally here is the next chapter, there will be at least one more chapter maybe two but not to much more then that, unless i have some new idea pop in my mind or something lol Big thanks to xoxobianca13,shippolove844, David Fishwick, moonlit. rain12, Egyptian Kiss and ciaranoelle for reviewing the last chapter. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thanks everyone for reading and sticking with this story :)_


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Francesca closed her eyes as her vision began to blur from the blows to her head, when Henry slammed her head against the floor. She tried to keep the tears at bay, she refused to shed a tear in front of Henry. Sure she was scared to die, but she wasn't going to let him know that.

She had always heard that your life flashes before your eyes when you're about to die, but that was wrong. Instead you saw the things and the people that you loved.

Every memory that flashed in her mind involved Damon. From the first moment she ever laid eyes on him that Summer of 1863, to sitting in the field full of purple flowers when he told her he loved her and gave her a amethyst ring, to every single moment they spent together. Every time he smiled at her and said 'I love you', every time he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her passionately. The last image she saw, was when he looked at her with hurt and anger in his eyes and told her to never come back. That image would haunt her forever.

With her eyes still closed, she felt Henry lean down before he whispered in her ear,"after i kill you, I'm going to track down the man who took you from me and make him pay. No-one takes what is mine."

Francesca snapped her eyes open at his words, she suddenly found strength from deep inside, there was no way she was going to let him hurt Damon.

She laid her hands against Henry's chest and pushed as hard as she could, catching Henry by surprise and causing him to fall back onto the floor.

As she stood up from the floor, he laughed and asked,"you think you can take me on little girl?"

"I'm not going down without a fight." She said, as she grabbed a stake from the inside pocket of her black leather jacket and walked toward him.

Before she could raise the stake and stick it in his heart, he threw his right foot out, kicking her in the stomach.

While she doubled over and tried to catch her breath, he quickly jumped up and grabbed a handful of her hair.

He lifted her head up and looked into her eyes before saying sadly,"I didn't want to hurt you."

"Screw you." She said angrily.

He lowered his eyebrows in anger before throwing her across the room, causing her to crash into the wall and fall on the floor in the next room.

She coughed as she rolled from her back onto her stomach, she laid her hands flat on the floor and slowly pushed herself up from the floor. She winced in pain, as she raised up to her knees and tried to stand up, before she could get to her feet, Henry walked up and punched her in the face, causing her to fall back onto the floor on her back.

As she groaned in pain, Henry straddled her hips then asked,"now where were we?"

She ignored his question, as she laid her hands on his chest again and tried to push him off of her.

He grabbed her wrist and slammed them on the floor before saying,"we could have done this the easy way, love."

He gently stroked her cheek then said,"you could live a life of luxury and i will love you and protected you forever, all you have to do is say 'yes'."

"No." She said slowly, then added,"i will never be with you."

"Very well then." He said sadly, as he grabbed the stake, she was holding earlier, from the floor.

Before Henry could raise the stake, he heard footsteps walking up behind them and then a male voice said,"i see you started the fun without me."

Francesca looked at the familiar man standing behind Henry and her eyes opened wide from shock. She couldn't believe he was really alive. Her husband was still alive.

"Ethan." She whispered his name.

Ethan smiled at her then said,"hello my beautiful Francesca."

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Damon sighed as he slowly slide behind the wheel of his car, he couldn't believe he actually just killed Katherine.

A small smile appeared on his face, she was gone. Katherine is finally gone from his life, he always thought he would be upset if she ever died, instead he felt free and relieved.

But that feeling didn't last long when he realized he still didn't know where Francesca was and Katherine was his only lead.

_"Did Ces go after Henry alone?" _

_"Was she still alive?" _

These were the questions that ran through his mind, as he rested his head against the headrest.

He felt a tighten in his chest at the thought of losing Francesca, yeah she pissed him off by leaving but he couldn't stand losing her for good.

He reached into his front pocket and pulled out his cellphone, he quickly dialed her number and sighed in frustration when her voice mail picked up.

For a second, he thought about hanging up, instead he took a deep breath and poured his heart out.

"Hey Ces, it's me. I hope like hell you didn't go after Henry and you better still be alive cause i can't lose you. I'm sorry i told you to never come back, i didn't mean it, i was just mad that you were leaving me once again. Every time i lost you, it was like a lost a piece of myself. I don't want us to be apart anymore, I need you, please call me."

He took another deep breath then said softly,"I love you Ces."

After ending the call, he cranked up the car and pulled out into the road.

He had no idea where to start looking for her, but he knew he would not stop looking till he found her.

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n-Hey everyone :) So sorry i haven't updated this in months, but i was going through some personal things the last few months but thankfully things are getting better so I've been slowly getting back into updating all my stories. Sadly there is only one chapter left in this story, I was going to finish it all in this chapter but thought i would break it up into two which is why this chapter is so short but hopefully you all will still like it. Thank you to everyone who has ever read this story or added it to their favorites. Also big thanks to xoxobianca13, Textcrazy, David Fishwick, Egyptian Kiss, ciaranoelle, Danni54, shippolove844, dragonrain618, xtooxcoolxmazzx and Akuish for reviewing the last chapter. If i left someone out, i apologize. Happy reading :)  
_


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Francesca looked up at Ethan in disbelief, she couldn't believe after all these years, thinking he was dead, he was now standing right in front of her as a vampire.

"Ethan?" She whispered his name again.

"Yes, yes, it's really me." He answered, as he helped Henry to stood up from the floor.

"But, how?" She asked, as she too stood up from the floor and faced the two men.

"I can answer that." Henry said smugly, then added,"I always make sure i have a plan B."

"Plan B?" Francesca asked, confused.

"Why yes, see, i always knew you would ran away from me at some point. So i turned Ethan, to be my right hand man and to keep a eye on you, he knows you better than you know yourself." Henry explained.

Francesca looked over at Ethan in surprise, she couldn't believe he had been spying on her, her whole life.

"I know what you're thinking." Ethan said, as he looked at her with a evil grin then added,"you're thinking, 'I can't believe he has been spying on me', am i right?"

Francesca turned her head, as Ethan begin to laugh at her, she couldn't believe this was the same man she had loved and married all those years ago.

"Ok enough chit chat, now that you're here, you know what to do." Henry said, as he handed the wooden stake to Ethan then took a few steps back.

Ethan looked down at the stake then looked up at Francesca before saying,"you have no idea, how long i have waited to do this."

Francesca took a deep breath and tried not to let her fear show, as Ethan slowly walked toward her then begin to walk around her, then he leaned toward her and whispered in her ear,"don't worry, this will be over quickly."

As he walked back in front of her, she closed her eyes, as she waited for the stake to pierce her heart.

She didn't have to wait long till she heard the stake plunge into a heart, only it wasn't her heart.

She quickly opened her eyes and gasped in surprise when she saw that Ethan had stuck the stake into Henry's heart.

Henry gasped in pain, as he looked into Ethan's eyes, he couldn't believe his 'right hand man' had just betrayed him. Ethan never took his eyes off of Henry till he fell to the floor dead, only then did he look over at Francesca's surprised face.

"Wh-what? What's going on?" She stuttered.

"I'm sorry, if i scared you." Ethan said sincerely.

"B-but i thought..."

"I was never planning on killing you." Ethan said, interrupting her.

"You were tricking him?" She asked, as she pointed to Henry's dead body.

"Yes, yes i was." Ethan said with a smile, then added,"i only pretended to be his right hand man so i could kill him when the time was right."

"Oh." She said softly then took a quick step back when he took a step toward her.

"It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you, i promise." He reassured her, as he held up his hands in surrender.

Francesca took a deep breath, then sighed quietly, as he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

"God, it is so good to see you again." He whispered, as he rested his head on top of hers.

"So you didn't mean what you said before?" She asked him, after the hug was over.

"About what?" He asked, confused.

"About following me for years?"

"No, well i tried, but you're a hard person to find sometimes." He said with a laugh.

"Yeah I've gotten good at running and hiding." She said, sadly.

"Not anymore, now you are free. You can do whatever you want and go where ever you want to go, so where are you going to go?"

She looked down at the floor and smiled as Damon crossed her mind. She looked up at Ethan and said,"home. I'm going home."

"Where's home?" He asked.

"Mystic Falls." She said smiling.

"Oh, going to that Salvatore guy?"

"How do you know about him?" She asked, confused.

"Just cause i couldn't find you, doesn't mean i don't know what you've been doing." He said quietly.

"Oh." She said, then added,"I'm sorry Ethan."

"Oh no, don't worry about it." He said, as he waved her off then added,"what we had was a long time ago, but we've both moved on."

"I'll always love you Ethan, you'll always have a place in my heart but..."

"You love Damon." He finished for her.

"Yeah, yeah i do." She said smiling.

"Then go to him." Ethan said, as he rested his hand on her shoulder then added,"he's a lucky man."

"Thank you Ethan." She said, as she quickly hugged him then headed toward the front door.

She quickly turned around and asked as she pointed to Henry's body,"hey, what are we going to do with him?"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

"Good-bye Ethan."

"Good-bye Francesca." He said, as he sadly watched her walk out of his life.

It was only after he heard her car leave that he whispered to the empty room,"I'll never stop loving you."

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

Damon sighed as he opened the front door of the Salvatore mansion, he quickly walked inside then slammed the door shut. He still haven't been able to find Francesca.

"Hey, any luck?" Stefan asked, as he walked down the stairs and looked at his brother.

"No, I'm still nowhere close to finding her." Damon said sadly.

"Maybe you should go up to your room and rest, i know you must be tired." Stefan suggested.

"I'll rest when i find her."

"Come on brother, just a small nap." Stefan said, then added,"I'll make some calls while you sleep, if i find something I'll come get you."

"Alright fine." Damon said with a sigh, he hated to admit it, but his brother was right, he was exhausted.

"Have a good nap." Stefan said with a knowing smile, as he watched Damon walk up the stairs.

Damon took off his jacket, as he opened his bedroom door and threw the jacket across the room. He looked down at the floor as he took a few steps further into the room.

When he was almost to the bed, he finally looked up, his eyes widened in surprise when he saw Francesca sitting in the middle of his bed holding a small white kitten.

"Ces." He whispered, he couldn't believe she was right in front of him.

"Hi Damon." She said smiling.

"Wh-where were you? I've been looking all over." He said, as he walked closer to the bed.

She sat the kitten down on the bed before rising to her knees and moving toward the edge of the bed to stand in front of him before saying,"it doesn't matter right now."

"God, i can't believe you are here." He said, as he laid his hands on either side of her face then added,"I'm so sorry about everything."

"Don't worry about it, none of that matters. This is all that matters." She said, as she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his for a tender kiss.

"I love you Damon." She said, after the kiss.

"I love you too Ces." He said smiling, then added,"just one question?"

"What?"

"What is that?" He asked, as he pointed to the small white kitten, that had curled up on his bed.

"That is our baby kitten." She said smiling, then added,"i found her all alone in the streets, i figured we could name her and raise her."

"You know cats live for a very long time, you going to be around for that?"

"That is the plan, if it's ok with you?"

"It's more than ok with me." He said, as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Good, cause I'm not going anywhere. I'm done running." She said with a smile, as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

He leaned toward her then stopped when his lips were only inches from hers then said,"you sure? Cause if you're going to run, you better do it now. If i wake up in the morning and you're gone, I'll hunt you down and kill you myself."

She laughed then said,"I'm not leaving you ever again. I promise."

As he pressed his lips against hers in a passionate kiss, Francesca couldn't help the smile that came upon her face. For years all she did was run and hide from her feelings, but now, she couldn't imagine being anywhere other than in Damon's arms and like she promised him, she was never leaving again. She was done running scared.

**The End**

_...ooo...ooo...ooo..._

_a/n-Well there it is, the end of this story. I really had a blast writing it and i hope you all enjoyed it. Hopefully the last chapter was not a let down. I purposely didn't name the kitten, but if any of you wanted to suggest a name i would love to hear it. I want to give big thanks to everyone who read this story, favorite it and left reviews. Each and every review meant the world to me. Also if you liked this story i invite you to check out my other stories, maybe you will find another one you like, if not that's ok. Once again thank you all so so much! _


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